title: Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Self-care Ability Scale for the Elderly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To translate the Self-care Ability Scale for the Elderly into Simplified Chinese and to test the Chinese version of the scale regarding its reliability and validity among older people.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Self-care is an important topic in nursing. When assessing older people's self-care ability, it is essential that a reliable and valid instrument is used.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study employed across-sectional design.
  
  
  METHODS
  We translated the English version of the Self-care Ability Scale for the Elderly into Simplified Chinese according to Brislin's translation guidelines and carried out a questionnaire survey among 610 older people, including both community-dwelling people and hospital patients, in Jinzhou City, People's Republic of China. Eighty participants completed the instrument twice for test-retest reliability. Data analyses were performed using spss 17.0 and Mplus, version 5, to assess reliability and validity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .89 and statistically significant item-to-total correlations showed evidence of homogeneity. An intraclass correlation coefficient of .99 for the test-retest between total scores and intraclass correlation coefficients between .87-.99 for the test-retest scores of each item explained the almost perfect test-retest reliability noted in this study. Content validity was found to be good, and a three-factor model was obtained in an exploratory factor analysis (explaining a variance of 57%) and modified in a confirmatory factor analysis (χ2= 261.559, df = 98, root mean square error of approximation = 0.074; standardised root mean square residual = 0.059), which reflected an acceptable construct validity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that the Chinese version of the Self-care Ability Scale for the Elderly has sufficient psychometric properties for assessing self-care ability among older people in China.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A reliable and valid instrument is available to assess the self-care ability of older Chinese people.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, China.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Center for Caring Research-Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Söderhamn
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cliffordson
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, China.
authors.forename: Qiyun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0618-8895
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care; D014177:Translations
keywords: instrument testing; older people; self-care