This study aimed to develop a Thai nurses’ caring behavior scale and test
its psychometric properties. Construction of the Thai Nurses’ Caring Behavior Scale
(TNCBS) consisted of two phases. Phase I involved identifying the meaning and
dimensions of Thai nurses’ caring behaviors; generating an item pool; providing the
format for measurement; review of items for content validity by experts; testing for
internal consistency and stability; and, examining face validity. Information from these
activities lead to development of a 63 item instrument, consisting of 6 dimensions
(effective communication; respect; support; being with; doing for; and, utilizing
professional knowledge and skills), that used a 4 point Likert-like format response
pattern.
Phase II involved testing the psychometric properties of the TNCBS. Seven
hundred and fifty eight professional nurses from 10 institutions, including one
university teaching hospital, two regional hospitals, three general hospitals and four
community hospitals, responded to the 63 item scale. Explanatory factor analysis with
varimax rotation was used to analyze the scale’s construct validity and found to be
acceptable. Due to redundancy of some items, the final version of the TNCBS was
reduced to 57 items. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the overall scale was 0.98 and
that of the six subscales was 0.86 to 0.93. The results indicated acceptable validity