Psychometrics of the Physical Health Attitude Scale in Taiwanese mental health nurses: A validation study

Abstract Background The Physical Health Attitude Scale (PHASe) is a reliable and valid scale for assessing mental health nurses’ attitude towards providing physical healthcare to patients diagnosed with serious mental illness. Aims To psychometrically evaluate the Chinese adaptation of the PHASe. Methods A total of 520 mental health nurses from 11 hospitals across Taiwan participated in this study. Brislin’s translation model was utilized for the validation process. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to establish the construct validity of the scale, and Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability were used to determine reliability. Results The four-factor 17-item Chinese version of the PHASe demonstrated satisfactory fit with significant factor loadings. Each factor had adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.70 to 0.80). Known-group validity was supported by the significant differences between groups with different attitudes. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the Chinese version of PHASe is acceptable for evaluating nurses’ attitude towards providing physical health care both within culturally Chinese societies and in cross-cultural studies.