Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of Self-assessment scale for the community- based and emergency practice among medical students

Abstract

Objective As the population continues to age, community-based primary care for the elderly increases to an important level. The aim of this study was to translate the Self-assessment scale for the community- based and emergency practice (C-CEP) into Chinese and to test its reliability and validity among medical students. Methods After gaining access to the C-CEP scale, the Brislin translation-back translation model was used for translation and cross-cultural adaptation. 600 medical students were recruited to participate in this study using a convenience sampling method (n = 600). General information about the study population was analyzed by descriptive statistics; item analysis was used to screen the scale items; the reliability of the Chinese version of the questionnaire was measured by internal consistency, split-half reliability, and retest reliability; the validity of the questionnaire was measured by content validity and structural validity. Results The English version of the C-CEP consisted of 15 items and the analysis of the items showed that all indicators were met. The Cronbach's alpha for the translated scale was 0.933 and the range of Cronbach's alpha for each dimension was 0.927–0.931. The retest reliability was 0.754 and the split-half reliability was 0.883. The four-factor structure explained a cumulative 74.897% of the total variance. All the content validity was met. The results of the validation factor analysis showed that χ²/ df = 1.906, RMR = 0.031, GFI = 0.931, AGFI = 0.901, IFI = 0.974, TLI = 0.967, CFI = 0.973, PNFI = 0.757, PGFI = 0.651 and RMSEA = 0.055. The model-fit indicators were all within acceptable limits. Conclusions The Chinese version of the Self-assessment scale for the community- based and emergency practice had good reliability and validity and could effectively assess medical students' self-practice skills. The scale could provide intervention targets for medical educators to explore the direction of community practice education for medical students to improve their practice emergencies.