Italian EBP Beliefs Scales: A Psychometric Validation Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Clinical Practice
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Evidence-based practice (EBP) is crucial for informed clinical decision-making.
• Assessing nurses' EBP beliefs and behaviors is key to promoting EBP.
• Existing EBP measurement tools require adaptation for the Italian nursing context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To culturally adapt and validate the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Beliefs Scale for Italian nurses.
• To evaluate the psychometric properties of both the long and short versions of the scale in Italy.

Main Methods:

• Observational cross-sectional study utilizing a cross-cultural translation and adaptation process.
• Expert panel reviewed content validity (I-CVI, S-CVI).
• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability testing (Cronbach's alpha) on data from 409 nurses; convergent validity assessed via correlation.

Main Results:

• High content validity (I-CVI, S-CVI: 0.75–1.00) for both scale versions.
• CFA confirmed good model fit for the Italian context.
• Excellent reliability (Cronbach's alpha > 0.80) and moderate-to-strong convergent validity (r=0.615) between scale versions.

Conclusions:

• The validated short Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Beliefs Scale is suitable for efficient assessment and tracking of EBP beliefs among Italian nurses.
• The long version provides a comprehensive tool for in-depth analysis and identifying intervention targets.
• These validated tools support the integration of EBP into Italian nursing practice.