Development and psychometric testing of the nurses' attitudes toward obesity and obese patients (NATOOPS) scale

This study was designed to develop and test an instrument to measure nurses' attitudes towards obesity and obese adult patients. Items were based on an earlier version of the instrument, obesity discrimination research, and clinical experience. After content validation of items, the instrument was sent to 1,400 randomly selected Registered Nurses. Factor analysis yielded a 5-factor solution, with 36 items reaching loadings of .4 or greater. Cronbach's alpha was .81 for the reduced scale, with a range of .45 to .79 on the five factors. Construct validity was supported by significant differences between contrast groups on three factors and consistency with underlying theory. Overall the instrument demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties and could be used in future research.