Developing an Instrument to Measure Attitudes toward Nurses: Preliminary Psychometric Findings

Abstract

Although many doctors and nurses presumably develop good working relationships, substantial problems are frequently reported. There is a large body of reports on physicians' attitudes toward and perceptions of nurses, but no systematic attempt has been made to develop a psychometrically sound instrument to measure attitudes towards nurses. This study reports steps in developing such an instrument and its psychometric characteristics. Based on a review of the literature, a preliminary list of 59 statements of attitudes toward nurses was prepared and subsequently reviewed by 26 medical educators, nurses, and physicians. 25 statements were judged to have adequate face validity and were included in a preliminary version of a questionnaire using a 4-point Likert-type format. Quantitative analyses were performed on the responses of two groups of medical students (67 freshmen and sophomores and 15 freshmen). Twenty statements yielded a significant and positive correlation with the total score. Statistical analyses of the 20-item version of the scale supported its psychometric characteristics.