Nationally validating the core competency evaluation instrument for gerontological nurse specialists: based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to further test the psychometric properties of the core competency evaluation instrument for gerontological nurse specialists nationwide and to optimize it.Design: Cross-sectional studySettings and Participants: This study was conducted on gerontological nurse specialists trained at 13 province-level or above training organizations in China.Methods: Online questionnaires were adopted to collect data from March 2019 to January 2020. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to revise and cross-validate the instrument.Results: Twenty items were excluded from the original scale, and nine factors were extracted from the revised scale by exploratory factor analysis. Of nine extracted factors, two (professional self-identification and learning enthusiasm), five (clinical nursing skill, communication and management skill, professional development skill, legal/ethical practice skill, and research/analysis decision-making skill), and two factors (professional knowledge and basic knowledge) were extracted from Attitude, Skill, and Knowledge subscale, respectively. 87.02%, 81.70%, and 81.70% of the total variances were explained respectively by factors extracted from these three subscales, which were much higher than those of the original version scale (i.e., 68.58%, 69.60%, and 75.87% respectively). The revised scale was cross-validated by confirmatory factor analysis, which showed good model fitness in all three subscales, that is, χ2/df < 3, SRMR ≤ 0.05, RMSEA ≤ 0.05, GFI, AGFI, IFI, TLI, and CFI > 0.9. The Cronbach’s α coefficients of nine factors ranged from 0.91 to 0.98. The retest reliability was 0.87.Conclusion: The factor structure of the core competency evaluation instrument for gerontological nurse specialists was more stable and concise after modification. The revised scale could be preliminarily used nationwide as it has excellent reliability and validity. However, it is also necessary to make further adjustments.