Development and validation of the school healthcare partnership scale for school nurses.

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to develop the School Healthcare Partnership Scale for School Nurses (SHCPS-S) for children with type 1 diabetes and to validate its psychometric properties.

METHODS

This was a methodological study. A total 342 school nurses in South Korea participated in the study; 171 were randomly assigned to each group for exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Data was collected from December 2021 to February 2022 via online survey. The Family Nursing Practice Scale was used to evaluate criterion validity, and the school nurse's professionalism scale and empathy were used to verify concurrent validity. Content validity review, response tests, and factor analysis were conducted.

RESULTS

A 50-items pool was created based on a hybrid concept analysis. Forty items were selected following the content validity review, using content validity index. A 20-item scale with four factors (trusting relationships, balanced responsibility, providing tailored care, and transparent and open communication) was chosen following exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis for the four factors showed an adequate model fit. The correlation coefficient with the family nursing practice and school nurse's professionalism scale were 0.642, 0.630, and 0.376. The Cronbach's α was 0.919, and the correlation coefficient was 0.768 in test-retest.

CONCLUSIONS

The SHCPS-S is a valid and reliable scale to measure school nurses' perceived collaborative relationships with parents for children with type 1 diabetes.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This scale can be used as a tool in interventional studies to enhance school healthcare partnerships.