Abstract
BACKGROUND: Good nursing informatics competence and integration into nursing practice are essential skills for clinical nurses. However, there is still a lack of well-developed and comprehensive assessment tools for nursing informatics competence among Chinese clinical nurses. The main objective of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Korean Nursing Informatics Competence Assessment Scale (K-NICAS) among nursing staff and to explore the factors influencing the competence of Chinese clinical nurses in nursing informatics. METHODS: The Brislin mode was used to translate the K-NICAS into Chinese. The questionnaire was administered to clinical nurses in several Chinese general hospitals in 2024. The scale's validity was assessed in three aspects: content validity, structural validity, and criterion-related validity. Construct validity was evaluated via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability were used to assess the scale's reliability. The factors impacting clinical nurses' nursing informatics competency were investigated via multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the K-NICAS comprises five dimensions and 20 items. The I⁃CVI ranged from 0.86 to 1.00, with good content validity. EFA identified five common factors, and the cumulative total variance explanation rate was 76.3%. The CFA results suggested an appropriate fit for the model. The Information Literacy Questionnaire (ILQ) total score was significantly correlated with the Chinese version of the K-NICAS total score (r = 0.736, p < 0.001). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and McDonald's omega coefficient of the scale were found to be 0.927. The split-half reliability coefficient was 0.810, and the test-retest reliability was 0.914. Computer self-efficacy, nursing informatics training, education, job satisfaction, computer grade, age, and the use of information devices were the influencing factors of clinical nurses' nursing informatics competence. CONCLUSIONS: The K-NICAS Chinese version is satisfactory in terms of reliability and validity and can be employed to measure Chinese clinical nurses' nursing informatics competency. Nursing administrators should strengthen nursing informatics training and improve information literacy and computer self-efficacy according to nurses' distinctive characteristics to promote the improvement of clinical nurses' informatics competence and the development of nursing informatization. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: The clinical trial was not involved in this study, so the number is not provided.