Psychometric testing of the caring assessment tool: Educational version (CAT-Edu©)

IF 3.6 2区医学 Q1 EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES

Nurse Education Today Pub Date : 2025-03-31 DOI:10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106720

Kasandra Musović , Majda Pajnkihar, Dominika Vrbnjak

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Caring is fundamental to quality nursing education, fostering effective nurse-patient relationships, empathy, and holistic care. Globally, including in Slovenia, nursing institutions struggle to integrate caring behaviors into curricula due to a lack of culturally sensitive assessment tools. This limits the measurement and development of caring competencies, potentially affecting education quality and patient outcomes.

Objectives

To translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Caring Assessment Tool-educational version (CAT-edu).

Design

A cross-sectional, descriptive study design was used to evaluate the CAT-edu's psychometric properties.

Setting

Four nursing faculties, with data collected from October 2021 until February 2022.

Participants

A convenience sample of 703 undergraduate student nurses enrolled in first-cycle Bologna degree programs.

Methods

The CAT-edu was translated using forward- and back-translation. Content validity indices were calculated to evaluate content validity by nine experts, and ten educators assessed face validity. Construct validity was evaluated through principal component analysis and internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and RStudio.

Results

Content validity was strong, with most items achieving high content validity indices; however, three items (26, 52, and 74) scored slightly lower. Construct validity was confirmed through principal component analysis, with Bartlett's test of Sphericity (p < 0.001) and a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.974 indicating suitability. Seven components explained 59.70 % of the variance. The 62-item version showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97).

Limitations

The study lacked a test-retest reliability assessment and may have limited potential generalizability due to convenience sampling and specific sample demographics.

Conclusions

The first Slovenian version of the CAT-edu for assessing caring behaviors in nursing education is a culturally sensitive and relatively psychometrically robust instrument. It supports faculty development, curriculum enhancements, and institutional policies. Addressing gaps like noncaring behaviors can foster caring competencies and improve patient outcomes.

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来源期刊

Nurse Education Today 医学-护理

CiteScore

6.90

自引率

12.80%

发文量

349

审稿时长

58 days

期刊介绍： Nurse Education Today is the leading international journal providing a forum for the publication of high quality original research, review and debate in the discussion of nursing, midwifery and interprofessional health care education, publishing papers which contribute to the advancement of educational theory and pedagogy that support the evidence-based practice for educationalists worldwide. The journal stimulates and values critical scholarly debate on issues that have strategic relevance for leaders of health care education. The journal publishes the highest quality scholarly contributions reflecting the diversity of people, health and education systems worldwide, by publishing research that employs rigorous methodology as well as by publishing papers that highlight the theoretical underpinnings of education and systems globally. The journal will publish papers that show depth, rigour, originality and high standards of presentation, in particular, work that is original, analytical and constructively critical of both previous work and current initiatives. Authors are invited to submit original research, systematic and scholarly reviews, and critical papers which will stimulate debate on research, policy, theory or philosophy of nursing and related health care education, and which will meet and develop the journal''s high academic and ethical standards.