Development of Nurses’ Beliefs and Attitudes Towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire and its Psychometric Evaluation

 Due to the impact of the beliefs and attitudes on clinical practice, it is necessary to measure the beliefs and attitudes of nurses towrads the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in patient care. This study aimed for development and psychometric evaluation of Nurses’ Beliefs and Attitudes towards CAM Questionnaire (NBACQ) for Iranian population.

 In this methodological study, based on Waltz et al.’s approach and the constructs of the theory of planned behavior, the initial version of NBACQ was designed, and its face and content validity were assessed. Participants were 250 eligible clinical nurses in Kashan, Iran selected using a stratified random sampling method in 2018 after obtaining informed written consent from them. Construct validity of the tool was evaluated by factor analysis and known-groups method, and its reliability was assessed by measuring its internal consistency and stability as well as the ceiling and floor effects. Data were analyzed in SPSS by using exploratory factor analysis, ANOVA, Cronbach’s alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).

The initial version of NBACQ had 60 items. In the face and content validity assessment stage, 4 items were eliminated. Factor analysis yielded 6 factors by eliminating 14 items (Explained Variance=52.3%). There was a significant relationship between the NBACQ score and the nurses’ agreement with the use of CAM in clinical practice (F=6.85, P<0.0001). Cronbach’s alpha and ICC values were obtained 0.878 and 0.973, respectively. The standard error of measurement and the smallest detectable change were calculated ±14.685 and 10.62, respectively. The frequency of minimum and maximum possible NBACQ scores was zero.

 The 42-item NBACQ can be used as a valid and reliable tool for assessing the nurses’ beliefs and attitudes towards CAM.