The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II.

AIMS: The present study was conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of a newly adapted Chinese version of an instrument designed to measure structural empowerment among staff nurses. BACKGROUND: Structural empowerment has been shown to be important to nurses in Western cultures, but its importance in China is unknown. METHODS: A convenience sample of 650 staff nurses was selected from six hospitals in Harbin, China. After linguistic adaptation using the forward-backward translation method, the 19-item Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II-CV) was answered by participants. Content validity, Cronbach's alpha, item-to-total correlation and exploratory factor analysis were used to assess the reliability and validity of the translated instrument. RESULTS: In the factor analysis, a six-factor solution was found to be reasonable with the sub-dimensions of structural empowerment that included support (three items), resources (three items), information (three items), opportunity (three items), formal power (three items) and informal power (four items). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total instrument was 0.92 and ranged from 0.68 to 0.86 in the six subscales. The item-to-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.48 to 0.80. The findings also gave support for content validity. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence was found to support the reliability and validity of the CWEQ-II-CV scale that measures the quality of the work environment for nurses from a structural empowerment perspective. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The translated version of CWEQ-II-CV can provide an effective evaluation tool for structural empowerment in the Chinese nursing workplace.

The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Problem Areas in Psychological Empowerment Scale (PES): scale development.

AIMS: This study was conducted to adapt the Problem Areas in Psychological Empowerment Scale for use among staff nurses and to evaluate the psychometric properties. BACKGROUND: Considering the importance of psychological aspects in the administration of nursing, there is a need for validated measurements in this area. Such tools make it possible to understand staff nurses as well as they serve as reliable measures when evaluating medical, psychological and educational interventions. DESIGN: Instrument development. METHODS: A convenience sample of 750 staff nurses was systematically selected from six hospitals in Harbin, China. Following the linguistic adaptation using the forward-backward translation method, the 12-item Psychological Empowerment Scale was answered by the selected staff nurses. Statistics covered exploratory factor analysis, content validity, Cronbach's alpha and item-to-total correlation. RESULTS: In the factor analysis, a four-factor solution was found to be reasonable with the subdimensions psychological empowerment-related meaning problems (three items), competence problems (three items), self-determination (three items) and impact problems (three items). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total score was 0.85 and varied between 0.82-0.89 in the four subscales. The item-to-total correlation coefficient was 0.40, and items were excluded with item-to-total correlation coefficient of lower than 0.40. The findings also gave support for the content validity. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of the Problem Areas in Psychological Empowerment Scale seems to be reliable and valid outcome for measuring empowerment-related psychological response in staff nurses. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The Psychological Empowerment Scale can be used to evaluate staff nurses' empowerment-related psychological response in clinical.