title: Public health nursing competency instrument: scale reduction and reliability of factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To reduce the number of items of the Public Health Nursing Competency Instrument (PHNCI) and to report the psychometric properties of the abbreviated instrument.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 193-item PHNCI was administered via an online survey tool. A national sample of 2,269 public health nurses was recruited from 25 states.
  
  
  METHODS
  All items of the PHNCI scale were positively stated and participants were asked to rate their skill level via a 4-point Likert scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A principal component exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation and examination of scree plot resulted in a final abbreviated scale which included 81 items and six factors: (1) Evaluation Competencies, (2) Individual/Family/Community Competencies, (3) Systems' Competencies, (4) Partnership/Collaboration Competencies, (5) Planning Competencies, and (6) Assessment Competencies. The six factors in the resulting PHNCI Abbreviated (PHNCIa ) demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, ranging from 0.92 to 0.98.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The six factors of the PHNCIa integrate important concepts of both the nursing process and the intervention wheel. The instrument can be used by educators, administrators, managers, and staff members to assess strengths and challenge areas, guide discussions on performance and expectations, and enhance professional development efforts. Next steps for future research are presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives, St. Paul, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reckinger
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.forename: Derryl E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Block
authors.forename: LaVohn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Josten
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Savik
mesh_terms: D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D011594:Psychometrics; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: competency; factor analysis; public health nursing; questionnaire