The Compassion Competence Scale Arabic version: A validation study among student nurses and interns in Saudi Arabia

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the validity and reliability of the Compassion Competence Scale Arabic version for Saudi nursing students and interns. Background: Compassion is an essential element of quality health care in which training nursing students to deliver compassionate care is important. Assessment of compassion competence of Arabic-speaking nursing students requires a valid and reliable tool. Design: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Methods: This investigation was conducted from April to May 2019 in two universities in Saudi Arabia involving nursing students and interns. Cultural adaptation was performed using a forward–backward translation method. Content validity and construct validity through exploratory factor analysis were established. Internal consistency, stability and reliability were also determined for the scale. Results: The Arabic version has an excellent content validity. The exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor solution that accounts for 50.62% of the scale's variance. The Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.806, whereas the Cronbach's alpha of the subscales ranged from 0.739 to 0.797. The intraclass correlation coefficient of the two-week test–retest scores was 0.84. The university, gender, year level and family type predicted the students' compassion competence. Conclusion: The Arabic version can be used to measure Arabic-speaking nursing students' compassion competence in clinical areas.