Psychometric Proprieties of the Arabic Version of the Perceived Preoperative Nursing Care Competence Scale for Nursing Students (PPreCC-NS)

Abstract

Background: Enhancing the quality of patient treatment and safety relies heavily on nursing students’ preoperative competence, making it an essential component of their education. The Perceived Preoperative Nursing Care Competence Scale for Nursing Students (PPreCC-NS) has been created in English to assess the preoperative competence of nursing students. Hence, translation and evaluation of the psychometric proprieties of the PPreCC-NS scale in the Arabic context are pivotal. Purpose: To examine the psychometric proprieties of the Arabic version of the Perceived Preoperative Nursing Care Competence Scale for Nursing Students (PPreCC-NS). Methods: A descriptive, crosssectional study was carried out on 202 nursing students using an online questionnaire. The students’ selection was based on the probability simple random sampling technique. The international guidelines were followed in the translation of the PPreCC-NS. The psychometric proprieties and internal consistency were assessed using exploratory factor analysis and reliability tests. Results: Five factors were extracted by the exploratory factor analysis, with 22 final items. The obtained factor structure explained 62.71% of the variance. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the five domains ranged between 0.70 and 0.85, whereas the overall Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was greater than 0.7. Conclusion: The translated questionnaire demonstrated valid and reliable psychometric properties when administered to nursing students. The translated preoperative nursing care competence measure for nursing students is thought to be used to assess perceived preoperative nursing students’ competence in the Arab region. Implications for Nursing: The findings could be valuable for nursing educators, nursing managers, and decisionmakers in devising efficient strategies to improve preoperative nursing care. Further research studies are essential to understand factors influencing the level of understanding among nursing students in relation to preoperative nursing care. Keywords: Preoperative care, Competence, Nursing students, Exploratory factor analysis, Psychometric proprieties.