Patient Participation in Patient Safety Practices Scale: Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Scale

Introduction: Patient participation is a critical element in enhancing patient safety. Involving patients in safety practices improves communication, reduces errors, and optimizes treatment outcomes. However, there is no standardized instrument that measures patient participation in safety practices. Methods: This study was designed as a scale development and psychometric validation study to create the Patient Participation in Patient Safety Practices Scale (PPPSPS). The methodological research was conducted with 424 inpatients in a Turkish public hospital between June 2021 and February 2022. The scale development process included item generation, expert review, a pilot study, and statistical validation. Content validity was assessed using Lawshe's content validity ratio (CVR). Structural validity was tested through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlations. Results: The final version of the scale included 32 items under 4 subscales (general, infection, falls, and drugs). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.90 for the whole scale, 0.90 for the general subscale (11 items), 0.90 for the infection subscale (10 items), 0.81 for the fall subscale (6 items), and 0.80 for the drug subscale (5 items). EFA revealed four factors explaining 70.61% of the total variance. CFA confirmed a good model fit: χ² (457) = 1053.15; p < 0.001; χ²/df = 2.3; GFI = 0.930; AGFI = 0.920; CFI = 1.000; TLI = 0.981; RMSEA = 0.079; SRMR = 0.079. Cronbach's alpha was 0.922 for the total scale and ranged between 0.799 and 0.932 for the subscales. Conclusions: The Patient Participation in Patient Safety Practices Scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing patient participation in safety practices. It is recommended for use in clinical settings and further testing in different patient populations and healthcare systems.