Validation of the Spanish Short Version of the Perception of Humanized Care Behaviors Scale in Hospitalized Adults in...

To validate a new Spanish version of the Perception of Nursing Humanized Care Behaviors Scale (PCHE) in hospitalized adults in Chile.

A descriptive, cross-sectional validation study of the PCHE scale was conducted with the participation of adults admitted to four hospitals in Chile. The research was carried out in three stages: (i) linguistic adaptation and content validation through expert judgment; (ii) assessment of internal consistency and preliminary construct validity of the adapted and revised instrument; and (iii) evaluation of the validity and reliability of a proposed abbreviated version of the scale. A total of 1720 patients were selected through non-probabilistic convenience sampling. Following linguistic adaptation and expert review, a pilot test was conducted with 40 patients; after revisions, the 32-item instrument with four response options was applied to a first sample of 344 patients. Subsequently, the response scale was expanded from four to seven options and administered to a second sample of 202 patients. Cognitive interviews and a preliminary Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) were also conducted, resulting in a reduction of the instrument from 32 to 15 items. Finally, in a third sample of 1,134 patients, an EFA and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha.

The original 32-item instrument with four Likert response options showed limitations in item comprehension, relevance, and factorial structure. After adjustments, a 15-item scale was obtained, from which a single dimension-humanized care-emerged, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.93.

The abbreviated PCHE instrument, reduced from 32 to 15 items, is valid and reliable for use in hospitalized adult patients in Chile.