title: Coping With Existential and Emotional Challenges: Development and Validation of the Self-Competence in Death Work Scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Palliative care professionals often are confronted by death in their work. They may experience challenges to self, such as aroused emotions and queries about life's meaningfulness. Assessing their level of "self-competence" in coping with these challenges is crucial in understanding their needs in death work.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to develop and validate the Self-Competence in Death Work Scale (SC-DWS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Development of this scale involved three steps: 1) items generated from a qualitative study with palliative care professionals, (2) expert panel review, and (3) pilot test. Analysis was conducted to explore the factor structure and examine the reliability and validity of the scale. Helping professionals involved in death work were recruited to complete questionnaires comprising the SC-DWS and other scales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 151 participants were recruited. Both one-factor and two-factor structures were found. Emotional and existential coping were identified as subscales in the two-factor structure. Correlations of the whole scale and subscales with measures of death attitudes, meaning in life, burnout and depression provided evidence for the construct validity. Discriminative validity was supported by showing participants with bereavement experience and longer experience in the profession and death work possessed a significantly higher level of self-competence. Reliability analyses showed that the entire scale and subscales were internally consistent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SC-DWS was found to be valid and reliable. This scale may facilitate helping professionals' understanding of their self-competence in death work, so appropriate professional support and training may be obtained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: chchan@swk.cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Wallace Chi Ho
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Center on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Agnes Fong
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Tin
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Karen Lok Yi
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003643:Death; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011361:Professional Competence; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012067:Religion; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Self; competence; death; professionals; scale development; validation