Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Hospital's Culture of Nursing Research Scale Among Nurses.

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The "Hospital's Culture of Nursing Research Scale" (HCNRS) is a critical assessment tool in health care research. It was created in response to the rising acknowledgment of nursing research's critical role in improving patient care outcomes. This study aimed to develop the HCNRS to assess the nurses' perceptions of the hospital's culture of nursing research. Methods: This study utilized the instrument development design in developing the HCNRS. The study was conducted in Astana, Kazakhstan, from May to September 2023. The study followed three major stages of scale development: "item development," "scale development," and "scale evaluation." "Principal component analysis" (PCA; n = 387) and "confirmatory factor analysis" (CFA; n = 362) were performed in this study. Cronbach's coefficient α was computed for reliability. Results: The PCA on the 32-item HCNRS revealed five factors with an eigenvalue of above 1, contributing 66.0% of the model's total variance. The CFA revealed the following findings supporting the five subscales of the HCNRS-R: χ 2 /df = 2.65, root mean square error of approximation = .068 (90% CI [0.063, 0.072]), comparative fit index = 0.92, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.91, and standardized root mean square residual = .04. Based on the items that loaded in each factor, the subscales were labeled "Research Ethics, Integrity, and Supportive Culture," "Nursing Research Institutionalization," "Hospital's Financial Support and Incentives for Research Initiatives," "Nursing Research Engagement and Innovation," and "Nursing Research Integration and Career Support." The computed Cronbach's coefficient α of the entire scale was .963. For its subscales, the Cronbach's coefficient α ranged from .833 to .953. Conclusions: The study developed a five-factor HCNRS to evaluate the multifaceted aspects of nursing research culture in hospital settings. Health care institutions can utilize this scale to identify areas for improvement in research culture and implement strategies to foster research ethics, integrity, and innovation. This tool can also be used by hospital leaders, policymakers, and nurse researchers seeking to evaluate the research culture within their health care organizations.