The validity and reliability of a questionnaire on the knowledge and attitudes of nurses about ethics

Abstract

OBJECTIVE The translation and validation of a questionnaire for use with the Greek population regarding the knowledge, views and attitudes of nurses on ethic issues in the context of daily clinical practice. METHOD A structured questionnaire for use with nurses in the English language on knowledge of law and ethics and the role of an ethics committee in the healthcare system was prepared for use in the Greek setting. The questionnaire was translated into Greek and back, translated by 4 translators and an independent researcher. The validity of the Greek version of the questionnaire was documented by two methods, face validity and the content validity, by 5 experts and 10 nurses. The reliability of the questionnaire was based on test-retest reliability in the responses of 20 nurses who were working in a general hospital in Greece from November to December 2020. RESULTS In the assessment of face validity, the majority of the experts stated that the questionnaire described the concepts of the subject for which it was designed to measure. The content validity index of the research questionnaire ranged from 0.8 to 1.00. On 60 of the 70 questions and sub-questions a score of 1.00 was recorded, proving complete agreement between the experts (0.86), and the content validity scale was 0.97. The test-retest reliability showed that the majority of the 70 questions were rated with good or very good agreement, above 0.6, but 10 questions were rated with low agreement, and 11 questions with moderate. CONCLUSIONS The questionnaire demonstrated an appropriate level of face and content validity, according to the experts, with a high index. It also showed high reliability, and a high percentage of agreement between nurses on whom it was tested. This instrument is simple, easy to understand and to complete and is suitable for application at all levels of nursing in the Greek health services. © Athens Medical Society.