Stress measurement among charge nurses: developing a cross-cultural tool.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a cross-cultural tool for the measurement of stress among charge nurses in general hospitals.

Background: Studies of the specific stressors unique to different nursing roles are few, particularly those related to hospital charge nurses. The Charge Nurse Stress Questionnaire is a well-validated Israeli-developed scale. However, it has not been tested cross-culturally.

Design: A descriptive methodological study was conducted in Israel, Ohio and Thailand.

Method: A total of 2616 nurses from 23 hospitals (small to large size) completed the questionnaire between 2011-2013. The questionnaire was translated into English and Thai. To establish tool validity and reliability, content validity, internal consistency reliability, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were performed.

Results: Analyses resulted in a final abbreviated version of the questionnaire with 25 items and four stress subscales. Internal consistency for the subscales indicated very good internal consistency.

Conclusions: We developed a self-reported, cross-cultural, valid and reliable tool for evaluating the specific stressors of the role of charge nurses. A rigorous assessment of charge nurse stress provides a good basis for planning tailored stress reduction interventions. It is recommended to further use the tool in different settings across different countries.