Psychometric evaluation of the French version of the Clinical Nursing Competence Questionnaire (CNCQ-22): A cross-sectional study in nursing education in Burkina Faso

Abstract Background Clinical nursing competence (CNC) is the essence of the nursing profession. It has received attention as a central component of nursing education; however, most instruments of measure were developed in high income countries and essentially in English. To gauge the CNC of nursing students attending Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs, a specialized scale is needed. This study aimed to validate a French version of the 22-item Clinical Nursing Competence Questionnaire (CNCQ-22), designed and implemented in Taiwan. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive survey was carried out to assess the psychometric properties of the CNCQ-22. A total of 255 pre-graduate nursing students of three nursing campuses of Burkina Faso (Ecole Nationale de Sante Publique) participated in the study from June to October 2009. In addition to descriptive analysis, the reliability of the instrument, test-retest, and convergent and discriminant validity were examined. Results Most participants were pre-registered nursing students (66.3%), predominantly male (68.2%), and their mean age was 30.54 (± 5.66) (range 21–48). The original English version of the CNCQ-22 was translated into French and yielded an internal consistency coefficient of 0.89. The instrument revealed solid stability through a test-retest that yielded a Spearman's rho of 0.61 and supported good convergent and discriminant validity. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a three-factor solution. Conclusion The French version of the CNCQ-22 demonstrates promising psychometric integrity and can be considered as a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate CNC in a French nursing education context. An accurate assessment of CNC provided by an adapted, easy-to-use CNCQ-22 may help nursing educators and academics improve the quality of training.