Developing a Sleepiness Scale for Nurses and Physicians: A Methodological Study

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Kaplan A., Kaplan Ö., Özdemir C., Elmalı F., Bülbül E.

Nursing Open, cilt.12, sa.e70296, ss.1-11, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 12 Sayı: e70296
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1002/nop2.70296
  • Dergi Adı: Nursing Open
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-11
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

ABSTRACT

Aim: The sleepiness of healthcare workers can negatively affect various aspects of healthcare, including patient and staff safety.

Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure sleepiness in nurses and physicians working

night shifts.

Design: A methodological study design was used in this study.

Methods: The scale items were developed through literature review and qualitative data analysis. The initial items of the instrument

were developed based on the identified core concepts and presented to 21 experts for content validity assessment. In order to

test the validity and reliability of the scale, a group of 255 nurses and 230 physicians working in a university hospital in a province

of Turkey were included in the study between November 2023 and January 2024 by face-to-

face

survey method. Lawshe's content

validity ratio, Kaiser–Mayer–Olkin coefficient, Bartlett's test, exploratory factor analysis, principal component analysis, Varimax

factor rotation method, confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient, Spearman correlation

coefficient and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests were used to analyse the data.

Results: The sleepiness scale is a 19-item

instrument with three factors: ‘cognitive and physical effects of sleepiness on the

process of working’, ‘difficulty keeping awake’ and ‘sleepiness coping strategies’. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measures indicated

that the data were sufficient for exploratory factor analysis. Bartlett's test indicated patterned relationships among the items

(χ2 = 5049.779; p < 0.001). Three factors explained 58.927% of the variance. Internal consistency was demonstrated by Cronbach's

alphas of 0.921 Factor 1, 0.766 Factor 2, 0.797 Factor 3 and 0.923 total scale. According to the confirmatory factor analysis fit

index results of the scale, RMSEA value was 0.062 and χ2/df value was 2.843. The 4-week

test–retest reliability of the sleepiness

scale (n = 51) was also satisfactory (ICC = 0.958). The Sleepiness Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used

to determine the severity of sleepiness in nurses and physicians working in the night shift.

Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution.