Factor Structure and Reliability ofthe Persian Version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning-Medical Students(JeffSPLL-MS)

Today, the importance of students’ education as lifelong learners is taken seriously and its development is considered in all suggestions for improving medical education. Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning-Medical Students (JeffSPSLL-MS) is one of the lifelong learning measures which has not been implemented in Iran yet. This study aimed to investigate factor structure and reliability of the Persian version of JeffSPLL-MS among Iranian Persian speaking students. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 430 students in Birjand University of Medical Sciences who were selected through stratified random sampling. The data were collected by Persian version of JeffSPLL-MS. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate the factor structure of JeffSPLL-MS; the adequacy of model fit was assessed by the goodness-of-fit index, adjusted goodness-of-fit index, the root mean square error of approximation, chi-square index and its corresponding degrees of freedom, and comparative fit index. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to check the reliability. The goodness of fit indices including RMSEA approximated 0.1 and GFI and CFI approximated 1; therefore the fit of model was good. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three-factor structure of Persian version of JeffSPLL-MS had acceptable fit to the data. Also, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.69 for the whole tool; it ranged from 0.64 to 0.78 for the subscales. This study confirmed the three-factor structure of 14-item Persian version of JeffSPLL-MS including beliefs related to education and motivation, information search skills, and attention to learning opportunities. Therefore, this tool seems to be appropriate for assessing lifelong learning among Persian speaking students.