Development and psychometric properties of the attitude scale towards female workers in the healthcare settings

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to develop a new instrument to evaluate healthcare professionals' attitudes towards female workers in the healthcare settings-the Attitude Scale Towards Female Workers (ASTFW)-and test its psychometric properties. Design This is a scale development study. Method A three-phase structure was used: (1) creating the item pool, (2) preliminarily evaluating items and (3) refining the scale and evaluating psychometric properties. The scale's content validity, construct validity, internal consistency and temporal stability were evaluated according to the scale development guidelines. The scale's psychometric properties were tested with 1,635 healthcare professionals working in six different hospitals. The data were collected between November 2018 and July 2019. Results The scale items were obtained from face-to-face, semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews with the healthcare professionals. The scale's content validity index was 0.96. According to exploratory factor analysis, the scale consisted of 30 items and five subdimensions; the subdimensions were found to explain 54.48% of the total variance. Fit indices obtained with confirmatory factor analysis were at acceptable and good levels. The scale was found to have high internal consistency and temporal stability. Conclusion The ASTFW is a psychometrically valid and reliable measurement instrument. The 30-item scale consists of five subdimensions: performance, gender roles, recruitment and retention, career, and emotionality. Impact This scale, which has good psychometric properties, can be used to perform a multidimensional evaluation of the attitudes of healthcare professionals in healthcare workplaces towards female workers. This scale can be useful in shedding light on negative attitudes towards female healthcare professionals in the health sector.