Developing and validating the nursing presence scale for hospitalized patients

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychometrics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Nursing presence is fundamental to professional nursing practice.
• Measuring nursing presence is critical for quality patient care.
• Existing instruments may not adequately capture nursing presence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically test the Nursing Presence Scale (NPS).
• To create a reliable and valid instrument for measuring nursing presence in Iranian patients.

Main Methods:

• Instrument development based on concept analysis and literature review.
• Face and content validity established for a 44-item draft scale.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted on data from 774 patients.
• Reliability assessed using Cronbach's alpha and intra-class correlation coefficient.

Main Results:

• A 36-item, 4-factor scale demonstrated adequate fit to the data.
• High internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.94) and reliability (ICC = 0.91).
• NPS scores positively correlated with the Revised Humane Caring Scale and predicted 25% of missed nursing care.

Conclusions:

• The 36-item NPS is a reliable and valid measure of nursing presence.
• The scale can be utilized to assess the current state of nursing presence in clinical settings.
• Data from the NPS can inform planning and enhance inpatient care services.