title: Development and psychometric evaluation of the Moral Competence Scale for Home Care Nurses in Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Moral Competence Scale for Home Care Nurses (MCSHCN).
  
  
  METHODS
  A self-administered questionnaire that included the preliminary MCSHCN (90 items) was distributed to home care nurses (HCNs) in Japan. Usable data (from 1,961 questionnaires) were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Item and exploratory factor analysis for the MCSHCN revealed 45 items that loaded on 5 factors. This 5-factor model showed reasonable fit to the data by confirmatory factor analysis (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.070). Thus, the model closely corresponded to the theoretical components of moral competence. Cronbach's alpha ranged from .78 to .93.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The construct validity and internal consistency reliability were supported. Further research is needed to refine this scale to increase the generalizability.
authors.affiliation: St. Luke's College of Nursing, Tokyo, Japan. asahara@slcn.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kiyomi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asahara
authors.forename: Wakanako
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Maasa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Omori
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Todome
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000941:ethics*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000941:ethics; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report