Psychometric properties and validation of the Chinese version of the Perceived Clinical Nurse Professional Dignity Scale

Background Professional dignity among clinical nurses is a prerequisite and foundation of nursing practice; it influences clinical nurses’ job satisfaction and career stability. Currently, China lacks a assessment tool, which severely hinders the systematic evaluation of professional dignity levels among clinical nurses and limits the development of targeted educational training and intervention measures. Objective The purpose of this study is to conduct a cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric validation of the Perceived Clinical Nurse Professional Dignity Scale (PCNPDS) for clinical nurses, thereby providing a standardized measurement tool for assessing the level of professional dignity among clinical nurses in China. Design A cross-sectional quantitative study. Methods Using convenience sampling, this study recruited clinical nurses working at three Grade A Tertiary Hospitals. Following the Brislin translation model, the PCNPDS was cross-culturally adapted into Chinese through translation, back-translation, integration, cultural adaptation, and a pilot test. Additionally, this study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the PCNPDS (C-PCNPDS), including content validity, internal structure validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test–retest reliability, thereby providing preliminary evidence for its application among clinical nurses in China. Results C-PCNPDS consists of 22 items. Exploratory factor analysis identified three common factors with eigenvalues greater than one, accounting for 78.494% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the initial model’s fit indices did not fully meet ideal standards; however, after refinement, all fit indices improved to an acceptable range. The analysis confirmed that the content validity indices for individual items ranged from 0.875 to 1.000, and the scale-content validity index/average was 0.988. The Cronbach’s α coefficient for the total scale was 0.973, with a test–retest reliability of 0.932 and a split-half reliability of 0.886. These results indicate that the scale possesses acceptable reliability and validity. Conclusion Preliminary evidence supports the reliability and validity of the C-PCNPDS as a tool for measuring clinical nurses’ perceptions of professional dignity in China. It can serve as a useful instrument for assessing professional dignity among this population and provide a reference for future research and nursing management.