Development and validation of the Lao Clinical Nurse Competency Scale

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Quality
• Health Workforce Development

Background:

• Laos developed a national nursing competency framework aligned with ASEAN standards.
• Systematic evaluation of nurses' actual competencies in Laos is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a measurement scale for assessing clinical competencies of nurses in Laos.
• The scale aims to evaluate nurses in healthcare facilities and clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• A self-administered questionnaire based on the National Competency for Licensed Nurses in Laos (NCLN) was used.
• Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed for validity and model fit assessment.
• Content validity was confirmed by expert review, and reliability was assessed using Spearman-Brown, Cronbach's alpha, and McDonald's omega.

Main Results:

• Exploratory factor analysis identified five factors and 26 items, explaining 73.2% of the variance.
• Structural equation modeling indicated an acceptable model fit (GFI=0.86, CFI=0.94, RMSEA=0.066).
• High reliability was achieved (Spearman-Brown=0.934, Cronbach's α=0.880, McDonald's ω=0.971).

Conclusions:

• The Lao Clinical Nurse Competency Scale (CAS) demonstrates satisfactory validity and reliability for assessing nursing competencies in Laos.
• Further research, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with independent samples, is recommended to confirm construct validity.