Development and psychometric properties of the caring behaviors of operating room nurses questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-method study

Background: Considering the threats in the operating room during the COVID-19 pandemic, the optimal care and safety of the operating room nurses should be maintained when performing surgery on an acute respiratory patient. It seems necessary to design a tool to measure the caring behaviors of operating room nurses. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim to design a valid and reliable tool for measuring the caring behavior of operating room nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: In this sequential, exploratory, mixed-method study, the designing and psychometric evaluation of the caring behaviors of operating room nurses questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic were performed in qualitative and quantitative phases from August 2021 to July 2022 in Aja University of Medical Sciences, Iran. In the qualitative phase, the concept of caring behaviors of operating room nurses was explored through interviews and a literature review based on online searches. In the quantitative phase, validity (face, content, and construct), and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated. Results: The findings supported 21 items in the 5 factors of caring behaviors related to attitude toward patients, knowledge of surgical care, virus prevention principles, self-care knowledge, and self-care performance, which explained 35.92 of the total variance. Scale-Content Validity Index/Average and Cronbach's alpha were calculated to be 0.93 and 0.89, respectively. Conclusions: Given its desirable reliability and validity, simple scoring, and ease of use by operating room nurses, the Caring Behaviors of Operating Room Nurses Questionnaire is applicable and its use is recommended