title: Development and psychometric evaluation of the Professional Practice Environment (PPE) scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the Professional Practice Environment (PPE) scale, its conceptual development and psychometric evaluation, and its uses in measuring eight characteristics of the professional practice environment in an acute care setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 38-item PPE Scale was validated on a sample of 849 professional practice staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Psychometric analysis included: item analysis, principal components analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization, and internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight components were shown, confirming the original conceptually derived model's structure and accounting for 61% of explained variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the eight PPE subscales ranged from .78 to .88.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings showed the 38-item PPE Scale was reliable and valid for use in health outcomes research to examine the professional practice environment of staff working in acute care settings.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA 02114, USA. jiveserickson@partners.org
authors.forename: Jeanette Ives
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.forename: M Patricia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fitzmaurice
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ditomassi
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001900:Boston; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006272:Health Facility Environment / Q000592:standards; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000523:psychology; D011340:Problem Solving; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*