Development and validation of the Professional Nursing Support Scale for Chinese patients with cancer.

Purpose This study aimed to develop and test the psychometric properties of a Professional Nursing Support Scale for patients with cancer in mainland China. Methods: The study was conducted in two phases from January 2017 to January 2020. Phase I involved item generation and developing a preliminary version of Professional Nursing Support Scale through literature review, qualitative interviews, content validity evaluation and a pilot study. Phase II involved psychometric properties testing of the Professional Nursing Support Scale in 700 patients with cancer recruited from four public hospitals in Anhui Province, China. Results: A 49‐item Professional Nursing Support Scale was finally developed. Exploratory factor analysis showed a four‐factor structure of the 49‐item Professional Nursing Support Scale, accounting for 56.95% of variance. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.91 to 0.94 for the four subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis further confirmed the best model fit of four‐factor structure of the Professional Nursing Support Scale. The Professional Nursing Support Scale also showed an acceptable concurrent validity with Supportive Care Needs Scale short form 34 (r = 0.75, p < 0.001) and Psychological Distress Thermometer (r = 0.39, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The Professional Nursing Support Scale is a reliable and valid instrument to assess perceived needs of professional nursing support and support acquisition in relation to the care in Chinese patients with cancer. Summary Statement: What is already known about this topic? Nurses generally provide supportive care services and play imperative roles in supporting patients in cancer.Using a valid and reliable instrument to assess supportive care needs for patients with cancer is a critical step for the improvement of clinical practice and research. What this paper adds? Mixed methods were beneficial for developing the new self‐report and culturally appropriate instrument for Chinese patients with cancer.The Professional Nursing Support Scale (PNSS) is a reliable and valid instrument to assess perceived needs of professional nursing support and support acquisition in relation to the needs. The implications of this paper: The PNSS is expected to a reliable needs evaluation tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]