Development and validation of the self-assessment scale for counselling skills in health services

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop the Self-Assessment Scale for Counselling Skills in Health Services and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Background: Effective communication and counselling are core competencies for nurses and midwives, essential for ensuring patient satisfaction, adherence to treatment and quality of care. However, there is a lack of multidimensional, validated tools to assess these skills comprehensively in healthcare education and practice. Design: This was an instrument development study. Method: The study followed a systematic scale development process including item generation based on literature and professional standards, expert review for content validity, pilot testing and psychometric evaluation. Data were collected between February and April 2025 from 286 nursing and midwifery students at a foundation university in T & uuml;rkiye. Analyses included Content Validity Index (CVI), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's alpha. Results: The final version of the scale consisted of 44 items grouped under three factors: Communication Skills, Professionalism and Counselling Practice Skills. These factors explained 69.30 % of the total variance. The CVI score was calculated as 0.98. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.976, indicating excellent reliability. CFA results confirmed acceptable model fit. Conclusion: The Self-Assessment Scale for Counselling Skills in Health Services is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to evaluate the counselling skills of healthcare students and professionals. It is suitable for use in educational and clinical settings to support skill development and assess the effectiveness of training interventions.