Aim and objective To test the psychometric properties of the nursing students' version of the 24‐item Caring Behaviours Inventory. Background Caring is at the heart of nursing and should also be a core value in nursing education. Caring can be manifested through measurable behaviours. The Caring Behaviors Inventory is a valid and reliable measure of nurses' caring behaviours in clinical settings. It has already been used among nursing students, but it needs more psychometric testing. Design Cross‐sectional validation study. Method The questionnaire was filled in by 300 undergraduate nursing students at two Italian universities in May 2016. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted using Mplus maximum likelihood with GEOMIN oblique rotation. A multifaceted approach was used to evaluate the model fit. The STROBE checklist for cross‐sectional studies was followed. Results Four dimensions were identified: “being with,” “doing with competence,” “responding to individual needs” and “providing effective care.” Adequate fit indices and high reliability of the factors were found. Correlations between factors were positive and significant. Conclusion This study makes it possible to use the same tool to compare the caring practices perceived by students, nurses and patients. Further studies with bigger samples could be stratified to investigate the associations between caring levels and student characteristics. The Caring Behaviors Inventory can be used to call attention to caring in nursing education, helping to make this concept less elusive. Relevance to clinical practice The effective self‐assessment of nursing students' caring behaviours offers opportunities for reflection on their caring practice. This could improve the caring level of their behaviours in clinical practice and help them to become caring nurses in the future.

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The new instrument shows reasonable psychometric properties and is a promising short and widely applicable measure of inpatient perceptions of nurse caring behaviours.

BackgroundClinical experience is an essential component of nursing education since it provides students with the opportunity to construct and develop clinical competencies. Instructor caring is a pivotal facilitator at the forefront of clinical education, playing a key and complex educating role in clinical sectors. For these reasons the aims of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Italian version of NSPIC (I-NSPIC).MethodsA validation multicentre study was conducted in three different Italian universities. A total of 333 nursing students were enrolled in the 2014/2015 academic year. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with oblique rotation was performed to test the construct validity of I-NSPIC. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and test retest via Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) analyses were done to assess the internal consistency and stability of the scale. A Spearman’s correlation with another scale (CLES-T) was used to examine the concurrent validities.ResultsFour factors (control versus flexibility, supportive learning climate, confidence through caring, appreciation of life meaning and respectful sharing) were identified in EFA. The Cronbach’s alpha value showed that I-NSPIC was a reliable instrument (α = 0.94) and the ICC coefficient was satisfactory.ConclusionThe I-NSPIC is a valid instrument for assessing the perception of instructor caring in Italian nursing students. It may also prove helpful in promoting the caring ability of nursing students and in increasing the caring interactions in the relationship between instructor and nursing students.The knowledge emerged from this study provide important insight in developing effective training strategies in the clinical training of undergraduate nursing students.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-017-1032-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background and PurposeCaring is an essential value in nursing, it’s crucial in pediatric hemato-oncology: we tested the Nurse Caring Behavior Scale (NCBS) in this setting.MethodsThe NCBS is a 14-item validated psychometric questionnaire: caregivers and nurses adapted versions were used. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used.ResultsThe questionnaires were completed by 188 caregivers and 193 nurses. The two data sets were suitable for EFA and fitted with one-solution factor analysis; factor loading showed values >0.40 (>0.60 for caregivers). The mean scores were: 4.5 (range: 1–5) for caregivers and 4.7 (range: 1–5) for nurses.ConclusionThe two validated versions can be used on a wider nurses and caregivers sample and provide an instrument for the development of nursing protocols based on caring.