Development and psychometric evaluation of the Feeling Safe During Surgery Scale

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychometrics
• Surgical Patient Experience

Background:

• Patient safety and psychological well-being are critical during surgical procedures.
• Measuring patient perceptions of safety, particularly under regional anesthesia, requires validated instruments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically test the Feeling Safe During Surgery Scale.
• To evaluate the reliability and validity of a new instrument for assessing patient safety during surgery.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, non-experimental study design was employed.
• Classical test theory was used for psychometric evaluation, including reliability, construct validity, and content validity.
• A 16-item scale was administered to 242 patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty under regional anesthesia.

Main Results:

• The initial 16-item scale was refined to a 13-item version after excluding three items with reliability deficits.
• Principal component analysis identified a two-dimensional structure: internal and external aspects of feeling safe.
• The final scale demonstrated good internal consistency (0.841) and acceptable average content validity (0.88).

Conclusions:

• The Feeling Safe During Surgery Scale is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring patient safety perceptions.
• The scale's two-dimensional structure provides insights into distinct aspects of feeling safe during surgery.
• This validated scale can be utilized in clinical practice and research to enhance surgical patient care and experience.