Development of a scale to measure nursing difficulties experienced by Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional study

To clarify the nursing difficulties faced by Chinese migrant nurses, this study developed a scale to measure those experienced by nurses working in Japan.

The questionnaire was developed and scaled based on the results of a literature review and interview survey. Participants were Chinese migrant nurses working in Japan. The initial 24 questionnaire items were refined through experts' evaluation and pretesting. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to identify the underlying factors of the scale. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, while criterion-related validity was evaluated using external measures.

A three-factor scale with 20 items was identified, comprising "language difficulties in daily nursing task," "considerate of patients' feelings in nursing practice," and "smooth relationships with colleagues." Confirmatory factor analyses indicated an adequate model fit. Construct and criterion-related validity were confirmed, and Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.84 to 0.88 for each factor.

The scale was confirmed to be valid and reliable; thereby making it suitable for measuring the nursing difficulties experienced by Chinese migrant nurses in Japan.