Development and validation of assessment instruments for cervical collar and spinal board placement in simulated environments for nursing students in the care of polytrauma patients.

BACKGROUND: Multiple trauma injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in people under the age of 45 and require prompt and specialised care. However, medical and nursing education programmes do not always include specific training in emergency pre-hospital care, resulting in a lack of basic practical skills in trauma management. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate two instruments for assessing nursing students' competence in cervical collar and spinal board application in simulated pre-hospital emergency scenarios. METHOD: This is an instrumental study that involves the development of two assessment instruments and the evaluation of their psychometric properties in a sample of 392 nursing students. Content validity was assessed using expert judgement, by calculating the content validity ratio (CVR) for each item and the scale level content validity index average (S-CVI/Ave) for the instruments. Exploratory factor analysis using the MINRES extraction method and Promax rotation was performed to analyse the performance of the items and structure of the rubrics. Internal consistency was analysed using the Omega coefficient and inter-rater agreement was assessed using Cohen's Kappa coefficient. RESULTS: Initially, two rubrics were obtained: one with six items for cervical collar placement (S-CVI/Ave = 0.86) and one with nine items for spinal board placement (S-CVI/Ave = 0.81). Both had a single-factor structure, with all items having factor loadings greater than 0.34 for the cervical collar rubric and 0.56 for the spinal board rubric, except for item 2 of the cervical collar rubric (λ = 0.24), which was subsequently removed. The final cervical collar rubric (five items) had an overall internal consistency of 0.84 and the spinal board rubric had an overall internal consistency of 0.90, calculated using the Omega statistic. The weighted Kappa coefficient for each item ranged from acceptable (0.32) to substantial (0.79). These results show that we have successfully developed two sufficiently valid instruments to assess the immobilisation competencies proposed in the objective of the study. CONCLUSION: Whilst further research is needed to fully establish their psychometric properties, these instruments offer a valuable starting point for evaluating nursing students' competence in cervical collar and spinal board application in simulated pre-hospital scenarios.

Development and validation of a parental competence questionnaire in the paediatric hospital emergency setting (ECP-U).

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a parental competence questionnaire for parents of children seeking care in hospital emergency departments. METHODS: An instrumental study of the development of an assessment questionnaire was carried out in three phases: 1) review of relevant measures and item generation, 2) content validity evaluation, 3) psychometric evaluation. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine the factorial structure. Internal consistency was evaluated using ordinal alpha. Hypothesis testing was determined between the resulting factors, the Parental Stress Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. RESULTS: The participants were 270 parents of children aged 0-14 years old from a referral hospital in Valencia (Spain). An 18-item questionnaire was developed, comprising five factors that explain 53.0% of the variance: 1) "emotional management and expression", 2) "passive social support", 3) "parental agency", 4) "basic needs and care" and 5) "active social support". The internal consistency for the different factors was modest (>0.70). A negative correlation between the Parental Stress Scale and the parental competence questionnaire was found for most of the factors. CONCLUSIONS: This questionnaire on parental competence in the hospital emergency department (ECP-U) is a useful and simple self-report instrument for assessing the parental competence of parents with children in the emergency department. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The resulting questionnaire is of practical value to both healthcare professionals and researchers in this field. It can be administered quickly in clinical practice and used to identify parents' levels of parental competence and refer those with difficulties to appropriate support services.

Factor structure and validity of the Parental Competence Questionnaire in the Paediatric Hospital Emergency Setting (ECP-U).

OBJECTIVE: To confirm the structure and examine the psychometric properties of the Parental Competence Questionnaire in the Paediatric Hospital Emergency Setting (ECP-U). METHODS: An instrumental validation study of the ECP-U questionnaire and an examination of its psychometric properties were carried out. RESULTS: The participants were 260 mothers and fathers seeking care in the paediatric emergency department of a hospital in Valencia (Spain) with children aged 0 to 14 years old. The five-factor structure of the ECP-U was confirmed with excellent statistical fits. Second-order models and a more parsimonious four-factor structure with adequate but marginal fits are proposed. With the exception of the "parental agency" factor (in both models examined) and the "active social support" factor (in the original five-factor structure), the internal consistency of the different factors was modest (≥ 0.70). A negative correlation was found between the Parental Stress Scale and the ECP-U for most factors. CONCLUSIONS: Validity and reliability analyses indicate that the ECP-U is an instrument with modest psychometric properties. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The ECP-U is an instrument that can be used by future researchers to identify different levels of parental competence in paediatric hospital emergency departments. This will enable help to be given to families with parenting issues and problems. The underlying concern is to reduce the number of frequent users and "Non-Urgent Presentations" to paediatric emergency departments due to low parental competence.

Effectiveness of nontechnical skills educational interventions in the context of emergencies: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, the importance of training healthcare professionals in nontechnical skills using effective methodologies has been increasingly recognised as a means of preventing clinical errors in the practice of health care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions on nontechnical skills in the emergency medical services and/or critical care unit settings. METHODS: A systematic search was carried out in the PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the initial search, 7952 records were selected after duplicates removed. Finally, a selection of 38 studies was included for quantitative analysis. Separate meta-analyses of standardised mean changes were carried out for each outcome measure assuming a random-effects model. Cochran's Q-statistic and I2 index were applied to verify study heterogeneity. Weighted analyses of variance and meta-regressions were conducted to test the influence of potential moderators and funnel plots using Duval and Tweedie's trim-and-fill method, and Egger's regression test were used to examine publication bias. RESULTS: All the variables analysed had a significant effect size, with the exception of situational awareness (d+ = -0.448; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.034, 0.139). The highest mean effect size was found for knowledge (d+ = -0.925; 95% CI = -1.177, -0.673), followed by the mean effect sizes for global nontechnical skills (d+ = -0.642; 95% CI = -0.849, -0.434), team nontechnical skills (d+ = -0.606; 95% CI = -0.949, -0.262), and leadership nontechnical skills (d+ = -0.571; 95% CI = -0.877, -0.264). Similar mean effect sizes were found for attitude (d+ = -0.406; 95% CI = -0.769, -0.044), self-efficacy (d+ = -0.469; 95% CI = -0.874, -0.064), and communication nontechnical skills (d+ = -0.458; 95% CI = -0.818, -0.099). Large heterogeneity among the standardised mean changes was found in the meta-analyses (I2 > 75% and p < .001), except for self-efficacy where I2 = 58.17%, and there was a nonstatistical result for Cochran's Q. This great variability is also reflected in the forest plots. DISCUSSION: The use of simulation interventions to train emergency and critical care healthcare professionals in nontechnical skills significantly improves levels of knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and nontechnical skills performance.

Experience of women with multiple sclerosis during the period of compulsory home confinement due to COVID-19 in Spain.

Compulsory home confinement due to COVID-19 pandemic has had an influence on the physical and emotional health. Nevertheless, it has been more prevalent in women and in people with chronic illness such as multiple sclerosis, so the aim of this study was to know the experience of women with multiple sclerosis during the home confinement period in Spain. Seven women aged over 18 years, with a definitive diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and who belonged to multiple sclerosis associations completed semi-structured interviews. Two main themes and multiple subthemes were identified. The first them was "living with multiple sclerosis during home confinement" which included the physical and emotional impact, confinement coping ability and time for reflection. The second theme was "the environment during confinement" and it included solidarity and support, family cooperation, importance of peer contact and adjustments in the health environment during the pandemic. The period of compulsory home confinement in Spain did not worsen the physical and emotional symptoms of these women. This might be related to the increased support they had received as well as the continuity of their rehabilitation activities at home. Regarding changes in health system, the participants referred the necessity to return to face-to-face visits.

Beauty stereotypes as a form of violence in Spanish context: A mixed-method model.

The authors' purpose was to analyse the influence of beauty stereotypes on the everyday life of men and women and the behaviours adopted in order to satisfy such ideals using mixed methods of an exploratory nature. Taking into account that 76.7% of participants agree that the current established beauty stereotypes affect their everyday lives, we aim to explain the influence of beauty stereotypes and the behaviours adopted in order to comply with them. Assessing the degree of assimilation of gender-related socio-cultural beauty stereotypes allows us to examine how this can trigger behavioural responses in order to shape one's identity.

Association of the global activity limitation indicator with specific measures of disability in adults aged below 65.

BACKGROUND: health measures as the global activity limitation indicator (GALI) or self-rated health (SRH) allow to quantify and monitor the health of the population. The GALI is widely used in the European Union; however, evidence of its construct validity is still limited. We examine whether the GALI reflects disability in specific living contexts such as self-care, domestic life and work activity, whether it does so consistently across gender and age and its added value concerning SRH. METHODS: We used the subsample of adults aged 16-64 years (N = 15 934) from the 2009 European Health Interview Survey in Spain and analyzed the data with logistic regression models using the GALI and SRH as response variables. RESULTS: The GALI was strongly and significantly associated with the three measures of disability: self-care (OR = 22.8, 95% CI: 15.9-32.7), domestic life (OR = 16.3, 95% CI: 13.6-19.5) and work activity (e.g. impossibility to work: OR = 41.9, 95% CI: 30.3-57.8; prolonged sick leave: OR = 10.7, 95% CI: 9-12.7). There were significant interactions with age on all three disability measures and with the gender on one (domestic life), although they were small. SRH was also strongly associated with all three disability measures, but to a lesser extent than the GALI. CONCLUSIONS: The GALI reflects well and better than SRH, disability in self-care, domestic life and work activity. It is unknown whether the GALI performs equally in other living contexts such as social relations and community life.

The Spanish version of the Mothers' Postnatal Sense of Security Scale: Psychometric properties and predictive utility.

Postnatal sense of security is a relevant construct related to several variables of motherhood. However, it has not yet been studied in the Spanish context. The aims were: (a) To analyze the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Mothers' Postnatal Sense of Security Scale (PPSS-S); (b) analyze the factors related to mothers' sense of security during the first 2 weeks following childbirth (sociodemographic variables and factors related to maternity); and (c) examine the predictive utility that mothers' sense of security has on symptoms of postpartum depression 6-11 months after childbirth. This was a prospective longitudinal study performed in the first 6-11 months post-partum in four regions of Spain. A total of 928 mothers whose mean age was 33.67 years (standard deviation = 4.54) participated. The confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate adjustment to the original structure (χ2 = 17,272.79, df = 153, p < .001; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.98; comparative fit index = 0.98; root mean square error of approximation = 0.058 [0.053-0.063])and the overall internal consistency was 0.89. Direct relationships were shown between women' sense of security and already having had a child, the absence of postpartum health complications (either in the mother or the newborn) and receiving consistent information from healthcare professionals. Our results showed adequate evidence for the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the PPSS-S. Understanding mothers' sense of security during the early months of motherhood, as well as related factors in the postpartum period, will allow health professionals to implement preventive measures to promote mental health and could help reduce symptoms of postpartum depression.

Development and psychometric testing of a scale for assessing the associative stigma of mental illness in nursing.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop a new scale for assessing the associative stigma of mental illness in nursing based on Peplau's model of psychodynamic nursing and to examine its psychometric properties. BACKGROUND: The stigma of mental illness continues to cause problems today for patients, families and mental health professionals. For individuals with a mental disorder, stigma can result in restricted opportunities, social exclusion and the denial of rights. Associative stigma in mental health professionals is becoming a major problem and is related to increased depersonalisation, higher levels of emotional exhaustion and diminished job satisfaction among mental health professionals. Nursing may play a key role in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness, but there are no specific scales for the measurement of associative stigma in nursing. DESIGN: Development of an instrument. A STROBE checklist was completed. METHODS: This study involved two stages: (a) item generation and content validation; (b) examining the reliability and convergent/discriminant validity of the scale. A developmental and methodological design was used. Data were collected between November 2016-December 2017 from a sample of 737 nursing undergraduates. RESULTS: The results indicated good internal consistency for the final 20-item scale for assessing the associative stigma of mental illness in nursing, which is considered in terms of three dimensions: Violence/Dangerousness, Disability, and Irresponsibility/Lack of Competence. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a three-factor structure consistent with the theoretical model. CONCLUSIONS: The 20-item EVEPEM (from its Spanish acronym) derived from Peplau's theory was shown to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing the stigma of mental illness in the nursing setting. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Reliable instruments are needed to measure the effectiveness of anti-stigma interventions for mental health professionals. The results indicate that the tool developed is a valid and reliable instrument for use in the nursing setting.

Factors Related to the Intra-Partner Postnatal Sense of Security in a Spanish Sample.

BACKGROUND: The fathers' sense of security and their related factors during the process of parenthood remains largely unexplored. The objectives were to analyse: the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parent's Postnatal Sense of Security scale used for fathers, and the factors related to fathers' sense of security during the postpartum period. METHODS: A total of 583 fathers participated. The fathers' version of the questionnaire was adapted for Spanish speakers. The psychometric properties of the instrument and its relationship with the mother's sense of security were considered. FINDINGS: The results showed that the data fit well with the original model (TLI = 0.98, CFI = 0.98, and RMSEA = 0.05). The fathers' sense of security was associated with previously having become a father (t = -2.39, p = .02), the level of state anxiety (r = -0.34; p < .01) and trait anxiety (r = -0.24; p < .01), as well as the sense of security of their partners (r = 0.55, p < .001). In the regression analysis, the mothers' sense of security construct provided the greatest explanation of the model. DISCUSSION: The results of this study highlight the importance of considering the family unit in pre-, intra-, and postnatal education in order to increase the sense of security of both parents and reduce their anxiety levels. APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: This study provides Spanish healthcare professionals with access to a scale for assessing fathers' sense of security in the immediate postpartum period and allows them to identify needs in the process of becoming parents, emphasising the inclusion of both parents in any intervention.

Impact of the Mental Health Care Continuity-Chain among Individuals Expressing Suicidal Behaviour in a Spanish Sample.

Poor coordination between different healthcare services means that the proper follow-up of patients cannot be guaranteed, thus increasing the risk of relapse in cases of attempted suicide. This study describes the sociodemographic variables related to suicidal behaviour in a Spanish sample and analyses how the use of a continued nursing care protocol influences the follow-up of patients who have shown suicidal behaviour. A cohort of 213 patient was identified from the emergency department medical records because of suicide attempters during 2011; 51.6% were included in the intervention group (n = 110) and 48.4% (n = 103) in the control group. We used a specific continuity of care chain protocol with the patients in the intervention group. More than half of all the initial suicide attempts were made by women; 80.3% had a previous history of a mental disorder and 65.7% of the attempts were made by ingesting medications. Significantly more patients in the intervention group attended their first follow-up visit. This study highlights the need to implement protocols that favour the continuity of mental health care processes-especially those designed to treat individuals expressing suicidal behaviour-with the aim of reducing the risk of suicide in them by intensifying their monitoring.

Handover of Patients From Prehospital Emergency Services to Emergency Departments: A Qualitative Analysis Based on Experiences of Nurses.

BACKGROUND: During the transfer of patients, both ambulance and hospital emergency service professionals need to exchange necessary, precise, and complete information for an effective handover. Some factors threaten a quality handover such as excessive caseload, patients with multiple comorbidities, limited past medical history, and frequent interruptions. PURPOSE: To explore the viewpoint of nurses on their experience of patient handovers, describing the essential aspects of the process and areas for improvement, and establishing standardized elements for an effective handover. METHODS: A qualitative research method was used. RESULTS: Nurses identified the need to standardize the patient transfer process by a written record to support the verbal handover and to transmit patient information adequately, in a timely manner, and in a space free of interruptions, in order to increase patient safety. CONCLUSIONS: An organized method does not exist. The quality of handovers could be enhanced by improvements in communication and standardizing the process.

Design and validation of the social assimilation of beauty and body image stereotypes questionnaire in Spain.

It may be considered esthetic violence when social demands regarding beauty affect and manipulate the development of individual identity and body image to respond to supposed prevailing ideals in society. We design and validate an instrument for measuring the degree of social assimilation of such stereotypes regarding beauty and body image linked to gender. The questionnaire was developed from a sample of 918 Spanish adults who participated online to develop it. The questionnaire was composed of 23 items. The assessment of preconceived images of bodily perfection provides examples of how esthetic violence affects the health of both men and women.

Reducing mental health stigma among nursing students through an educational intervention.

BACKGROUND: Patient-centred care must consider service consumers' needs and improve their health and well-being as well as their satisfaction and the quality of their healthcare assistance. However, individuals experiencing mental illness often struggle with barriers and misunderstandings by health care professionals. Nursing Faculties are uniquely positioned to reduce stigmatising attitudes via new educational interventions that could align nursing curricula and individuals with mental illness needs. However, there are few studies about the stigma toward mental illness among nursing students in Spain. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to analyse the effect of a 9-month educational intervention on the level of stigma in nursing students. DESIGN: a one-group pre-postintervention design with no control group was conducted. METHODS: A total of 194 nursing students completed the EVEPEM scale before and after the intervention. The intervention comprised 55 hours of campus sessions and 150 h practicum in mental health settings. RESULTS: A destigmatising tendency was captured by a large main effect and a statistically significant stigma reduction. CONCLUSIONS: The educational 9-month intervention was effective in reducing students' stigma by providing theoretical education, personal contact with mental health service consumers, and critical reflection activities.

Effectiveness of a standardised patient simulation programme in undergraduate nursing students 6 months after implementation: A quasi-experimental study.

AIMS: The objectives were to evaluate the effectiveness of a standardised patient simulation programme and to analyse to what extent the students transferred the skills covered in the simulation to clinical practice 6 months after the intervention. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental study was carried out, with measurements taken pre-, post- and 6 months after the implementation of a standardised patient simulation programme in a single group. METHODS: Eligible to participate were all final year nursing undergraduates during the 2020-2021 academic year. In total, 41 undergraduate nursing students took part in all stages of the study. It was measured attitude towards communication, self-efficacy, communication skills and resilience. The degree to which communication skills were used in the real setting was also assessed. RESULTS: The students' scores for self-efficacy and perceived communication skills improved and were maintained after six months. Regarding to resilience, improvement was even evident six months following the intervention. In terms of the transfer to clinical practice, the students were making moderate to high use of the communication skills learned in the simulation.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale in Fathers.

BACKGROUND: Research gaps exist with regard to paternal attitudes towards breastfeeding and the association between fathers' attitudes and the type of breastfeeding. RESEARCH AIMS: (1): To analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale in fathers, and (2) to examine the association between fathers' attitudes and type of breastfeeding. METHOD: We used a cross-sectional study design to analyze the scale's psychometric properties and performance. RESULTS: A total of 639 fathers participated in the study. The mean age was 35.83 years (SD = 4.65) and 67.3% (n = 430) were married or in a civil partnership. We observed an adequate fit in the confirmatory factor analysis: TLI = 0.96, CFI = 0.97 and RMSEA = 0.05. The overall internal consistency was 0.76. Between 1-6 months, 48% (n = 307) of participants' babies were exclusively breastfed, 35.2% (n = 225) were partially breastfed, and 16.7% (n = 107) were exclusively formula fed. Statistically significant differences were shown in attitudes towards breastfeeding, depending on the type of breastfeeding, between 1 and 6 months (F = 54.67; p < .001). Fathers who reported that their baby had been exclusively breastfed scored higher on attitudes towards breastfeeding. Statistically significant differences were also found between partial breastfeeding and formula feeding. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring paternal attitudes towards breastfeeding.

Development of an Instrument to Evaluate the Intake of Liquids, Food and Supplements in Endurance Competitions: Nutritional Intake Questionnaire for Endurance Competitions-NIQEC.

BACKGROUND: In the last few years endurance sports have experienced a great increase in the number of competitions and participants. Dietary-nutritional planning is key for performing well during such competitions. To date, there is no questionnaire expressly developed to be able to analyze the consumption of liquids, foods, and supplements, as well as gastrointestinal problems in these events. This study describes the development of the Nutritional Intake Questionnaire for Endurance Competitions (NIQEC). METHODS: The study was composed in the following phases: (1) Bibliographic search for the most important nutrients, (2) focus groups (17 dietitian-nutritionists and 15 experienced athletes) and generation of items, (3) Delphi surveys, and (4) cognitive interviews. RESULTS: After an initial shaping of the questionnaire with the items that emerged in the focus groups, their relevance was evaluated by means of the Delphi survey, which showed more than 80% approval for most items. Finally, the cognitive interviews indicated that the questionnaire was simple and complete for its purpose. The final NIQEC (n = 50 items) was divided in 5 sections: Demographic data; sports data; consumption of liquids, food and supplements before, during, and after the competition; gastrointestinal complaints, and dietary-nutritional planning for the competition. CONCLUSIONS: The NICEQ is a useful tool that allows collecting information from participants on sociodemographic factors and gastrointestinal complaints, and estimating the intake of liquid, food, and supplements, for endurance competitions.

Learning outcomes and cost-utility analysis of hybrid patient and mannequin-based simulation.

INTRODUCTION: There is no clear evidence on the relationship between nursing student learning outcomes and the type of simulator used or its cost-effectiveness. OBJECTIVES: Compare nursing student learning outcomes using either the hybrid patient or mannequin and the cost-utility of both simulators. METHOD: A randomised experimental study with an experimental group (hybrid patient = 99) and a control group (mannequin = 97). A training intervention was carried out for polytrauma patients. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found between the simulator used and the performance results for tourniquet (hybrid 5.37 ± 1.33, mannequin 4.95 ± 1.09; p = .008) and spinal board (hybrid 6.18 ± 2.02, mannequin 6.97 ± 20.2; p = .001) application. The cost-utility ratio was estimated to be 3.29 for the hybrid patient and 1.92 for the mannequin. CONCLUSION: The use of a hybrid patient or mannequin has not been shown to be a determinant of performance outcomes or student perceptions in training interventions in polytrauma patient care. However, as the cost per participant with a mannequin is almost twice as high, the hybrid patient has a better cost-utility ratio.

Relationships between parent-infant bonding, dyadic adjustment and quality of life, in an intra-partner sample.

The transition to parenthood represents a moment of change and adaptation in which the dyadic marital relationship becomes a triadic relationship. Facilitating a positive transition requires a thorough understanding of the explanatory model of the relationship between parental-infant bonding, dyadic adjustment and quality of life (QoL) from an integrative perspective of the family unit. The aim of this work was to analyse the relationships between parent-infant bonding, dyadic adjustment and QoL from an intra-partner perspective, 6-12 months after the birth of a child. A cross-sectional observational study was performed in a convenience sample of 222 couples 6-12 months postpartum, enrolled from October 2013 to March 2016. The mean age of the mothers was 34.07 years (SD = 3.67), and for the fathers, it was 35.75 years (SD = 4.02). Mothers perceived better QoL and greater mother-infant bonding compared to fathers. The perception of an adequate dyadic adjustment, together with positive parent-infant bonding, had positively influenced the individual QoL of both members of the couple 6-12 months after birth. From an intra-partner perspective, the positive transition was influenced by the relationship between parent-infant bonding, dyadic adjustment and QoL. Positive parent-infant bonding in mothers and fathers, as well as promotion of the quality of the relationships between couples, can help promote a better QoL. Positive health results can be achieved in terms of individual and family well-being by designing healthcare interventions that encourage the presence and participation of the family unit.

Spanish Linguistic validation of the self-efficacy questionnaire in communication skills.

BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy is a critical element of social cognitive theory and refers to a person's estimation of their ability to complete a specific task. Self-efficacy scales evaluate the effectiveness of communication skills training programs. There were not validated scales in Spanish. AIMS: to cross-culturally adapt the Self-efficacy questionnaire-12 scale in communication skills in Spanish, evaluate its psychometric properties, and analyse the sample's descriptive characteristics. DESIGN: we conducted an instrumental study to develop evaluation scales. METHODS: nursing students were invited to participate (N = 387). The inclusion criteria were: (1) enrolment in first or fourth academic course year; (2) not having received specific training in communication skills; and (3) understanding written and spoken Spanish fluently. A total of 334 undergraduates participated (86.3% response rate); their mean age was 21.9 years (SD = 5.8), 83.2% were female. RESULTS: data showed high internal consistency (0.94) and a good fit to the model. The overall instrument score correlated with the attitude towards communication skills (r = 0.20; p < 0.001). Moderate communication self-efficacy scores were observed in these nursing students. IMPACT STATEMENT: Evaluating communication skills through self-efficacy scales allows teachers to know each student's perceived proficiency to handle communication with users safely and to understand users' needs, giving information about aspects to improve and to establish effective institutional strategies as one of the inherent characteristics of the concept of skills-based evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the Self-efficacy questionnaire-12 in communication skills was a valid and reliable instrument, essential for evaluating the perceived self-efficacy towards communication in nursing.