The validity and reliability of the interpersonal geriatric care relationship scale

Aim: The aim of this study is to adapt the Interpersonal Geriatric Care Relationship Tool in Turkish. Method: The research data were obtained from 307 elderly patients receiving treatment in the inpatient services of a city hospital in Kayseri, between September 2023 and October 2023. The data were collected using face-to-face interviews, Patient Information Form, and the Interpersonal Geriatric Care Relationship scale. In the scope of linguistic adaptation studies for the scale, opinions were obtained from 10 experts, and a pilot study was conducted with 30 patients before the data collection process began. The psychometric properties of the scale underwent rigorous scrutiny, encompassing item analysis, confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses, internal consistency, criterion validity, and convergent-discriminant validity. Results: The scope validity indices of the scale items range from 0.98 to 1.00. In the context of rediscovering a structure compatible with Turkish culture, it was observed that the factor loadings varied between 0.20 and 0.85 in the confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency coefficients ranged from 0.657 to 0.867, and the total Cronbach's alpha value of the scale was found to be 0.917. In the confirmatory factor analysis , the fit indices of the scale were measured as follows: χ2 /df (3.34), RMSEA (0.088), NFI (0.90), NNFI (0.92), SRMR (0.075), and CFI (0.92). Convergent and discriminant validity analyses yielded a CR value above 0.6 for each structure. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the scale, consisting of 30 items and 4 sub-dimensions, is a valid and reliable tool for measuring Interpersonal Geriatric Care Relationships in individuals aged 65 and above receiving nursing care. Keywords: Geriatric, Nursing Care, Validity, Reliability