Development of a Scale to Measure Attitude Euthanasia by Korean Nurses / 기본간호학회지

ABSTRACT

This study was done to develop an euthanasia attitude scale. Subjects who participated in the study were a convenience sample of 234 Korean nurses. Data were collected through a survey over a period of three months. The analysis of the data was done using SPSS PC for descriptive statistics, factor analysis and Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha. Initially 63 items were generated from interview data from eighteen nurses and from a literature review. This preliminary scale was analyzed for a reliability and validity. The results are as follow 1. Crombach's Coefficient alpha for the 19 items was 0.8804. 2. Factor analysis was done in order to confirm construct validity and four factor were extracted from the results. These contributed 56.6% of the variance in the total score. 3. Each factor was labled 'quality of life', 'respect of life, 'client's right','medical ethics'. The author suggests that this scale could be used in assessing the attitude of Korean nurses toward euthanasia.