Cross-Cultural Validation of the Portuguese Version of the Quality of Oncology Nursing Care Scale

Abstract

Background: Quality assessment in oncology nursing care has been a growing topic in the literature, gaining relevance as oncological nursing care becomes more complex as the science progresses. However, there are no instruments that assess the perception of the quality of oncology nursing care from the point of view of patients for the Portuguese population. Thus, the cross-cultural translation and validation of the Quality of Oncology Nursing Care Scale (QONCS) was performed for the Portuguese context. This instrument allows nurses to assess patients’ self-perception of the quality of nursing care provided in an oncological setting. It also allows researchers to compare the results obtained internationally with the application of this scale. Methods: This is a methodological study, with two distinct phases: the first corresponded to the translation and cultural adaptation of the scale to the Portuguese context, and the second consisted of the psychometric validation of the QONCS, which included factor analysis and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the instrument. We obtained responses from 402 patients from a Portuguese oncology hospital. Results: The Portuguese version of the Quality of Oncology Nursing Care Scale (QONCS_PT) consists of 34 items inserted into a tetra-factorial model, which explains a total variance of the instrument of 69.8%. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93 was obtained for the complete instrument. Conclusions: QONCS_PT has a competent and reliable structure. The scale’s validity was assured and can be used in the Portuguese population, as it is useful for direct care provision but also for researchers and managers.

Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of Measurement Instruments: A Practical Guideline for Novice Researchers

“…8 Measurement instruments can include questionnaires, tests, rating scales and self-reports, 9 the latter being also known as Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs). 10 In recent years we have conducted several cross-cultural validation studies of different measuring instruments, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] which constitute a significant contribution to the development of experimental designs in the field of nursing and health services research. Several studies across different scientific areas are characterized by the use of specific terminology and by seeking to archive various equivalences across cultures.…”