The caring dimensions inventory (CDI): content validity, reliability and scaling

Abstract

Caring is an elusive phenomenon but this should not prevent the development and validation of reliable quantitative tools for studying this concept in large samples of nurses. The present paper reports on the content analysis of a questionnaire called the Caring Dimensions Inventory (CDI). The CDI was content validated in terms of existing conceptualizations of caring and research in this area and also in terms of a nursing taxonomy and its representation in popular United Kingdom nursing publications. The CDI was administered to a large sample of nurses working in Scotland and data were obtained from 1430 qualified and student nurses. The internal consistency of the CDI items related to perceptions of caring was established and the scalability of a sub-set of CDI items was demonstrated. The CDI scale was related to the constructs of age and sex of respondents. Possibilities for further analysis and development of the CDI are discussed.

Impact of an educational program on nursing students’ caring and self-perception in intensive clinical training in Jordan

“…The scoring system was on a five-point Likert scale from 5 (“strongly agree”) to 1 (“strongly disagree”). The validity and reliability of the CDI has been reported by Watson and Lea 42. The reliability of the CDI, measured by internal consistency, was acceptable, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.96.…”

“…The Caring Dimensions Inventory (CDI) was developed by Watson et al42–44 This instrument was used to gather data on nursing students’ perception of what represents caring in nursing. It includes 25 items divided into four dimensions, ie, technical/professional (nine items), psychosocial (10 items), involvement (three items), and altruism (three items).…”

An exploration of the perceptions of caring held by students entering nursing programmes in the United Kingdom: A longitudinal qualitative study phase 1

“…More recently, Papastavrou et al (2011) (Smith, 2012;Watson and Lea, 1997;Watson et al1999). It may be that this is a reflection of undergraduate students' academic abilities or that previous experience as carers (or indeed no experience as was the case for some participants)…”

Educated Caring: The Emergence of Professional Identity Among Nurses

“…In the last couple of decades, nursing research has attempted to theorize, define, operationalize, and measure what caring constitutes and its relevance to nursing Boykin and Schoenhofer 1993;Hoover 2002;Kyle 1995;Leininger 1995;McCance et al 1997McCance et al , 1999Roach 1987;Watson and Lea 1997;Watson 1979Watson , 1985. As McCance et al (1999) point out, there have been a variety of theories and models of caring in nursing since the 1970s which agree that caring must be understood from a humanistic perspective since it involves issues beyond physical health.…”