Safe Use of Technology in the Operating Room Scale: Development and Psychometric Properties.

Purpose: To develop the Safe Use of Technology in the Operating Room Scale (SUTORS) and evaluation of its psychometric properties.

Design: The study was a scale development study including the validity and reliability analyses.

Methods: The study was conducted in training and research hospitals located in Istanbul, Turkey. The sample population comprised all health care professionals working in the operating rooms of the relevant hospitals. A total of 54 health care professionals were recruited for the preliminary implementation, and those who participated were excluded from the final sample. The sample size consisted of 437 health care professionals. The study collected data using the Healthcare Professional Identification Form and the SUTORS. The scope, content, and language appropriateness were evaluated. The data were then analyzed using various statistical methods, including Cronbach's α, halving, principal component analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, discriminative item analysis, cumulative explained variance, and composite reliability values.

Findings: The health care professionals had an average age of 30.69 ± 6.64 years and had been working in the operating room for an average of 5.94 ± 5.86 years, and 39.6% of them were nurses. The scale draft consisted of 134 items and 3 sections in total, and a 53-item scale was constructed as a result of content and linguistic validity. On completion of the explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses, the SUTORS, consisting of 45 items and 3 separate scale sections, was finalized. The scale comprises 45 items and 3 distinct sections for general applications, surgical team, and anesthesia team. Cronbach's α values were calculated for each section, resulting in 0.928, 0.906, and 0.946, respectively.

Conclusions: All three sections of the SUTORS are valid and reliable measures that can be used to assess the safe use of technology in the operating room.