Nurses' attitudes towards telehealth: The development and validation of the nurses' attitudes towards the use of telehealth scale.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To develop the nurses' attitudes towards use of a telehealth scale (NATUTS) and evaluate its psychometric properties. DESIGN: This methodological study involved two stages the development of the NATUTS and the testing of the psychometric properties of NATUTS. We followed STROBE guidelines when reporting the study (File S1). METHODS: Items for NATUTS were created using evidence from the literature and presented to eight experts. The scale was tested in a methodological study conducted through a face-to-face survey with nurses working in outpatient and inpatient units of a tertiary hospital in Türkiye. Psychometric properties of the scale, such as structural validity, content validity and internal consistency reliability, were tested. The sample, consisting of 630 nurses, was divided into two separate random groups. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with the data of the first 330 people, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the data of the remaining 300 people. RESULTS: A 19-item, three-factor structure (Satisfaction, Rejection, Development) was obtained in the newly developed scale. In NATUTS, Factor 1 (α = .93), Factor 2 (α = .86) and Factor 3 (α = .87) measured 64.4% of the total variance. The entire 19-item acceptability survey showed good internal consistency. NATUTS is a brief survey based on research evidence validated in a large Turkish sample. CONCLUSION: Findings show that NATUTS has acceptable content and structural validity and is reliable in measuring nurses' attitudes towards the use of telehealth. Further research can be conducted to develop the scale and strengthen its validity. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION No Patient or Public Contribution.