Development of a scale of difficult patient behavior management skills

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to assess healthcare professionals' skills in managing difficult patient behaviors and to determine its linguistic and psychometric properties. The research was conducted at Çorum Erol Olçok Training and Research Hospital between February 15, 2023, and April 15, 2024. The researcher compiled a scale item pool by reviewing relevant literature. Following the scale development steps, validity and reliability analyses of the "Difficult Patient Behavior Management Skills Scale" were conducted on 300 nurses. SPSS 21 and Amos 24 were used in data analysis. Using literature, a six-point Likert-type scale with 49 items was created and eliminated in the first stage, reducing the items to 46. The content validity of the Difficult Patient Behavior Management Skills Scale was assessed in accordance with expert opinions, and the Content Validity Index was calculated as 0.95. As a result of confirmatory factor analysis, the scale was structured into 16 items and 3 sub-dimensions. The fit indices of the model were generally found to be at an acceptable level (χ²/df=2.68; GFI=0.898; RFI=0.857; IFI=0.903; NFI=0.879; CFI=0.902; RMSEA=0.075; PGFI=0.667). These findings indicate that the Difficult Patient Behavior Management Skills Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool.