Development of the medical errors attitude scale

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDICAL ERRORS ATTITUDE SCALEDilek GüleçDr. Suat Seren Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospitaldgulec.11@hotmail.comABSTRACT:Objective: This study was conducted methodologically in order to develop "Medical Errors Attitude Scale" to determine the attitudes of physicians and nurses for medical errorsMethod: The study was carried out on 80 physicians and 207 nurses in a training and research hospital between January 2012 and December 2012 (N: 287). Sixty-five subjects from the sample group were re-tested after three weeks for the test-retest reliability. The data were collected as socio-demographic characteristics and using a 19-item "Medical Errors Attitude Scale". The data obtained from this study were coded and evaluated using number, percentage, correlation analysis, factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and independent samples t- test within the scope of the validity and reliability analysis on the computer.Results and Conclusion: Of those surveyed, 45.3% were between the age group of 31 to 40 years and the mean age was =36.9 (SD: 8.0). Seventy eight percent of the participants were female, 72.1% were nurse and 29.6% were specialist physicians, and 35.9% were Bachelor's degree graduates. Twenty-six point five percent of the participants were working in the department of internal medicine, 72.5% were day/night workers, and 87.1% were working 45 hours or more. A 20-item scale pool was created by the researcher. We consulted 19 specialists about the content validity and the number of items was determined as 19 according to the feedbacks. As a result of confirmatory factor analysis for construct validation, three items with a reliability coefficient of < .25 were excluded from the scale. The final version of the attitude scale of the medical errors included 16 items and was grouped under three factors: the perception of medical errors, approach to medical errors and causes of medical errors. The item-total correlation coefficients of all items were between .35 and .56 and showed a positive and statistically high significance. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was found as ? = .75 for the whole scale. In this study, test-retest reliability coefficient was .91 and a positive, strong and statistically significant correlation was found between the two measurement points. In conclusion, "Medical Errors Attitude Scale" was found as a measuring tool with high reliability and validity and as sufficient for determining the attitudes of physicians and nurses for medical errors.Keywords: Physician, Nurse, Medical error, Attitude, Scale development