Validation of the Palliative Care Nursing Self-Competence Scale for Oncology Nurses in the United States

Abstract

Oncology nurses care for persons with cancer and thus play an important role in providing palliative care to this population. However, a valid instrument to measure United States oncology nurses’ confidence in providing palliative care service to persons with cancer is not available. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Palliative Care Nursing Self-Competence (PCNSC) scale in measuring oncology nurses’ confidence in providing all aspects of palliative care to persons with cancer. An online survey with demographic questions and the PCNSC scale was sent to registered nurse (RN) members of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). The PCNSC scale consists of 50 items and 10 domains. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the psychometric properties of the PCNSC scale in examining oncology nurses’ confidence in providing palliative care. The CFA showed that the model fit reached adequate levels with the 10-factor structure of the PCNSC scale (χ2 = 2104.1, df = 1130, CFI = 0.88, RMSEA = 0.06) thus validating the scale in measuring oncology nurses’ confidence in providing palliative care to persons with cancer in the United States. PCNSC retained the same 10-factor structure with 5 items in each factor, thus validating the scale. This scale can be used to assess oncology nurses’ overall confidence and confidence in each domain of palliative care provision. These results can inform the development of targeted educational programs geared to enhancing oncology nurses’ confidence in the United States.