Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the attitudes towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation (ACPRD-C) among female hospital nurses in Taiwan

•“Attitudes towards CPR with defibrillation” instrument was translated into Chinese.•The translated instrument showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87).•The instrument showed good discriminative validity and sensible factor structure.•The instrument may be used for assessing the effectiveness of CPR programs.

IntroductionNurses are often the first responders to in-hospital cardiac emergencies. A positive attitude towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation may contribute to early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rapid defibrillation, which are associated with enhanced long-term survival. The aim of this study was to translate and adapt the 31-item attitudes towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation and the national resuscitation guidelines (ACPRD) instrument into Chinese and to evaluate its psychometric properties in a sample of Taiwanese hospital nurses.MethodsThe ACPRD instrument was translated into Chinese using professional translation services. Content validity index based on five experts to refine the translated instrument. The final instrument was applied to a sample of 290 female nurses, recruited from a regional hospital in southern Taiwan, to assess its internal consistency, factor structure, and discriminative validity.ResultsThe Chinese ACPRD instrument showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87). Seven factors emerged from the factor analysis. The instrument showed good discriminative validity and were able to differentiate the attitudes of nurses with more experience of defibrillation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation from those with less experience. Nurses working in emergency ward or intensive care unit also showed significantly higher overall scores compared to those working in other units.ConclusionThe Chinese ACPRD demonstrated adequate content validity, internal consistency, sensible factor structure, and good discriminative validity. Among Chinese-speaking nurses, it may be used as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of educational programs that aim to improve their confidence in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation.