Abstract
BACKGROUND: Workplace violence prevention initiatives are undeniably lacking in healthcare facilities. The aim of this study was to validate a newly developed questionnaire and assess employers' perceptions and practices towards workplace violence prevention at healthcare facilities. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2021 to November 2021 by recruiting 333 employers at healthcare facilities in Kelantan, Malaysia. The original draft of the Malay version of the questionnaire comprised 62 items constructed under two domains (perception and practice). A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate construct validity and internal consistency using R software. RESULTS: The final model for the perception and practice domain of the questionnaire consisted of 13 factors and 56 items. The factor loadings for all items were above 0.6. The fit indices used for confirmatory factor analysis in the final model were as follows: χ(2) = 2092.6 (P < 0.001), standardised root mean squared residual (SRMR) = 0.053, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.042, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.928 and Tucker Lewis index (TLI) = 0.920. The construct reliability for all factors was reliable, with Raykov's rho coefficients above 0.70. CONCLUSION: The newly developed questionnaire demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and adequate validity and reliability, confirming that this instrument is reliable and valuable for evaluating employers' perceptions and practices towards workplace violence prevention at healthcare facilities.