Aim: This study aimed to adapt and validate the Nurse Caring Patient Scale (NCPS) in a puerperal context to the European Portuguese.
Method: This research was a methodological study. The participant sample comprised 100 puerperal women, with an average age of 31.3 years (SD = 5.65), who attended a public hospital in southern Portugal. The instrument, originally consisting of 22 items, underwent translation, back translation, and semantic and colloquial conciliation. Ethical aspects have been respected.
Results: Factor analysis with varimax rotation revealed a set of 17 items with factor weights greater than .400. Three factors emerged, which explain 65.537% of the variance, namely "Being-at-the-Moment" (8 items), "Responsibility-for-the-Other" (5 items) and "Care-Diligent" (4 items). Reliability through Cronbach's alpha coefficient in the total scale was .881, and in the subscales, ranged from .713 to .938. Precision was analyzed using the split-half method, reaching an alpha with Spearman-Brown correction of .900. The convergent validity between the instrument versus the discrete variable Care-Offered showed, in the total scale, a Spearman rho of .851 and in the subscales between .528 and .616. In the discriminating validity, the Mann-Whitney test revealed that Portuguese women, vis-à-vis foreign women significantly value the dimensions "Being-at-the Moment" and "Responsibility-for-the-Other" (p < .05), while in the "Care-Diligent" component, there are no significant differences (p > .05).
Conclusion: The European Portuguese version of the NCPS, in an obstetric context, has reliability and validity. A further study in a random sample and validation in other Lusophone countries will be appropriate.