Validation and Localization of the Persian Version of Short form the Index of Ability and Readiness of Performing the Mission in Military Nurses

Nursing is an important subset of the health care system to act in critical situations. Military and civilian nurses are among the first to appear on the scene and provide services in the event of an accident or disaster, and military nurses play a double role in times of crisis due to their special security dimension. Assessing the capability and readiness of military nurses requires a local, accurate and reliable tool. The aim of this study was to validate and localize the short form tool of the Ability and Readiness Index in military nurses in Iran.

This research is a descriptive methodological study. In this study, permission was first obtained from the original author to use the tool. Then the Readiness Estimate and Deploy Ability Index (READI) short-form tool was translated into Persian according to the International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) protocol. Face validity of this tool was performed using the opinions of Persian literature experts and 15 military nurses. Then, with the help of 10 experts in the field of instrumentation, the content validity of the tool was calculated quantitatively, and based on the announced opinions, the content validity index (CVI) and was determined. Reliability was assessed by two methods of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and test-retest, by calculating the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data analysis was performed using confirmatory factor analysis with a sample size of 200 military nurses by convenience sampling method available with SPSS-22 and Lisrel 8.8.

In the present study, the CVI in all items, were higher than the standard value (0.62) and (0.79), respectively and all the items got the desired score. Also, the final version of the 40-item READI short-form tool with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.949 and the intra-cluster correlation index for the whole tool had 0.92 reliability. The results of factor analysis of data showed that the Persian version of the tool has a 6-factor structure (clinical nursing readiness, operational nursing readiness, life skills, psychosocial readiness, command and administrative support, group identification, and solidarity). Based on the mentioned factors, the sum of items was explained. These factors were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. (RAMSEA=0.067, CFI=0.97 and IFI=0.97). Estimation of standard factor loads in confirmatory factor analysis showed that this tool has an acceptable fit in Iranian culture and has good structural validity.

According to the acceptable level of validity and reliability indicators, the Persian version of the READI short form can be used as a comprehensive and reliable native tool to measure the level of readiness of military nurses.