Psychometrics evaluation of the Persian version of Attitudes toward Patient Safety Questionnaire (APSQ-III) in nursing students

Background: The topic of patient safety and attitudes toward patient safety among health professionals is a main priority of healthcare systems globally. This study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of APSQ-III among Iranian nursing students.

Methods: There were 307 undergraduate nursing students who participated in the cross-sectional methodological study, from December 2022 to January 2023. Content validity, Construct validity and reliability of the APSQ-III was evaluated.

Results: In the exploratory factor analysis, three factors were identified from 11 items, accounting for 58% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis indices confirmed the model fit (χ²(38) = 91.851, p < 0.001, χ²/df = 2.417, CFI = 0.966, PNFI = 0.652, IFI = 0.966, TLI = 0.951 and RMSEA = 0.068). The results of the reliability evaluation indicated that the factors demonstrated a satisfactory level of internal consistency, as evidenced by Cronbach's alpha (α) and McDonald's omega (ω) values. Additionally, the Composite Reliability (CR) and Maximal Reliability H were both above 0.8, further supporting the reliability of the factors.

Conclusion: The results of this study support the valid and reliable APSQ-III with 11 items and three factors. This questionnaire can be used to assess patient safety attitude among nursing students.