Psychometric Properties of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek and Cypriot Cancer Care Settings

J Nurs Meas. 2018 Aug;26(2):237-248. doi: 10.1891/1061-3749.26.2.237. Epub 2018 Aug 1.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Ethical climate provides the context in which ethical behavior and decision-making occur. To test the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey (HECS) in cancer care settings.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with 235 cancer nurses. Principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were examined. Reliability was investigated with Cronbach's coefficient α.

Results: Cronbach's α was 0.86 for the HECS total and ranged from 0.71 to 0.85 for the five subscales. PCA revealed that five components accounted for 61.09% of the variance which were comparable to those produced in the original validation study. The CFA with the five factors identified, produced a model with a good fit.

Conclusion: The Greek version of the HECS is valid and reliable for use within the cancer care context.

Keywords: cancer patients; cancer setting; ethical climate; reliability; validation.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Ethics, Nursing
  • Female
  • Greece
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Neoplasms / nursing*
  • Nursing Staff, Hospital / ethics
  • Nursing Staff, Hospital / psychology*
  • Oncology Nursing / ethics
  • Psychometrics*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Translations
  • Young Adult