Development a Difficulty Scale in Care for Nurses to Be Engaged in Hematological Cancer Nursing

Abstract

Purpose: To develop a hematological cancer nursing difficulty (HCND) scale and analyze its reliability and validity. Methods: Self-reported questionnaires were distributed to nurses who were engaged in hematological cancer nursing. Results: As a result of explanatory factor analysis, six subscales comprising 35 items were extracted, which are as follows: to provide psychological support and decision making for patients and their families over a long period of time, understand the treatment and pathology of a variety of hematological cancers, alleviate the symptoms caused by chemotherapy and deterioration of the patient’s general condition, collaborate with physicians, manage the symptoms of the complications that occur after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and support the selection of the location and achievement to get end-of-life care. The reliability of the scale was confirmed using the Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.96 (0.84‒0.94 for subscales). The criterion-related validity was confirmed by comparison with the 49-item Nurses’ Difficulty with Cancer Care (NDCC) scores. In terms of the validity of known groups, the HCND score for the nurses who were engaged for over 4 years in hematological cancer nursing was significantly lower than those who were engaged for less than 4 years in hematological cancer nursing. Conclusion: The reliability and validity of HCND were confirmed. Therefore, this scale may contribute in determining outcomes of educational or organizational interventions.