Clinical Deterioration Leadership Ability Scale: A Psychometric Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Assessing nurses' perceived leadership abilities during clinical deterioration provides a starting point for designing educational interventions to support leadership improvement. The study purpose was to provide psychometric testing of the Clinical Deterioration Leadership Ability Scale (CDLAS).

METHODS: The psychometric properties and factor structure of the CDLAS was examined.

RESULTS: Factor analysis determined a 1-factor structure (eigenvalues 5.783). Construct validity was supported by a significant difference between experienced (M = 3.48, SD = .57) and less experienced nurses (M = 3.27, SD = .68; t(146) = -2.00, p = .047). Acceptable levels of internal consistency reliability were found (.93, .95, and .94).

CONCLUSION: The CDLAS has demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. Further testing is needed in diverse populations and establishment of test-retest reliability.