RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid and reliable scale to measure the role of the nursing professional in the community (REFCO). DESIGN: Observational with cross-sectional and instrumental design. SITE: Populated centers and communities of the coast, highlands and jungle from Peru. PARTICIPANTS: The validation phase of the questionnaire had the voluntary participation of 402 Peruvian adults (50.7% from the coast, 40.5% from the highlands and 8.8% from the jungle). INTERVENTIONS: The elaborated questionnaire that measures perceptions about the role of the nursing professional in the community was applied. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: The psychometric properties of the REFCO scale were analyzed, such as content validation and internal consistency through the calculation of Aiken's V, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and later confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), respectively. Finally, the reliability of the scale was calculated. RESULTS: Overall, all values were statistically significant when evaluated with the V-Aiken coefficient. Likewise, the skewness and kurtosis values of all the items of the instrument did not exceed the range >±1.5. The correlations between factors 1 and 2 were significant (p < .05). The reliability of the scale presents a Cronbach's α coefficient = 0.865. CONCLUSIONS: The REFCO scale has 9 items and 2 dimensions; outreach and education; with content and construct validity that provide evidence for community nursing categories, which is useful for measuring nursing work in the community field.