Determinants of Nurses' Caring Behaviors (DNCB): Preliminary Validation of a Scale.

Introduction: Nurses' Caring behaviors might be affected by many variables. The aim of this study was to develop and test a valid and reliable questionnaire to specify these determinants.

Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to develop the questionnaire. The development process of the instrument was conducted in three phases. The first phase consisted of four steps: in-depth interviews, development of the preliminary version of the 38-item DNCB, expert panel review, and language revision. The second phase involved examining 143 qualified nurses for psychometric properties of the DNCB. The participants were selected, based on quota sampling approach, from four educational hospitals affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The final phase involved testing of the revised instrument using exploratory factor analysis.

Results: The results showed good CVI (0.89), test-retest correlation coefficient (0.91), internal consistency reliability (0.93), and acceptable face and construct validity. RESULTS of the factor analysis revealed a 6-factor solution, determined by Eigen values greater than 1, accounted for 77.736 of the total variance.

Conclusion: This instrument is a simple scale with a good reliability and validity that can provide comprehensive information about the determinants of caring behaviors in a short time.