title: Development and Initial Validation of the Nurses' Comfort With Touch Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The extent to which nurses feel comfortable about the use of touch may affect the frequency and quality of nursing touch-based interventions. No valid instrument exists to assess nurses' feelings of comfort with touch. In this study, the nurses' scale was developed and preliminary validated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Items were generated through semistructured interviews. After testing the content validity with a team of experts, the psychometric properties were tested with a sample of 451 nurses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Explorative factor analysis yielded a five-factor solution, which was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Examination of concurrent validity revealed that comfort with touch was correlated with positive affective states and emotional self-efficacy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future directions and implications for nursing research, education, and practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pedrazza
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trifiletti
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berlanda
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minuzzo
authors.forename: Arianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Motteran
mesh_terms: D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D014110:Touch