Assessing professional values in nursing education: adaptation and validation of the Hong Kong nurses professional...

BACKGROUND: Professional values are central to nursing practice and education, yet their measurement requires culturally adapted instruments. Despite the importance of these values, the NPVS-R has not been systematically validated in the Hong Kong context. This study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a Hong Kong version of the Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised (HK-NPVS-R) among nursing students. METHODS: A methodological cross-sectional design was used, with a total of 1,623 nursing students recruited from eight institutions representing all major categories of nursing education providers in Hong Kong. The NPVS-R was translated into traditional Chinese using forward-backward translation. Content validity was evaluated by eight nursing experts. Construct validity was examined through principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Measurement invariance was tested across gender, age groups, program types, and academic years. RESULTS: PCA revealed a three-factor structure — Caring, Professionalism, and Activism — explaining 63.17% of total variance. CFA indicated good model fit (CFI = 0.940; TLI = 0.934; RMSEA = 0.042 [90% CI: 0.040, 0.045]). The HK-NPVS-R demonstrated excellent reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.96). Measurement invariance analyses confirmed stability of the factor structure across all demographic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The HK-NPVS-R exhibits strong psychometric properties and cultural relevance. It is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing professional values among Hong Kong nursing students, supporting both research and educational applications. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.