A psychometric evaluation of the Taiwan version of the Individual Workload Perception Scale

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale on staff nurses in southern Taiwan. Most psychometric measures of the nursing work environment were developed in North America and reflect nursing practice in Western health care environments. As these instruments are used most often in translation, it is important to inquire whether they appropriately capture the characteristics of nursing work in environments outside of the original contexts. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted between 1 June-30 September 2009, with a convenience sample of 344 nurses providing direct patient care at a regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan. The Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale was created by translating the original English language Individual Workload Perception Scale-Revised, which is used to measure the staff nurses' perceptions of their work environment. The Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale is a 24-item five-point Likert scale measuring manager support, peer support, unit support, workload and intent to stay. Content validity, construct validity and reliability of the Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale were evaluated. The content validity index of the Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale was 0.93. Cronbach's alpha for the total Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale was 0.88, with a range of 0.61-0.85 for the subscales. Factorial validity was supported using a five-factor model solution that accounted for 55.47% of the total variance for nursing work environment. Manager support had the highest explained variance (28.38%). Acceptable reliability and content validity were found; the Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale is recommended for measuring nurses' perceptions of their work environment. Psychometric properties of a scale such as the Individual Workload Perception Scale translate cross-culturally, with minor adjustments. The Taiwan version of the Revised Individual Workload Perception Scale can be used to provide data and analyses in comparisons with nursing work environment features internationally.