A systematic review of psychometric testing of instruments that measure intention to work with older people

AIMS: To review systematically the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure intention to work with older people.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students are part of the future healthcare workforce; thus, being aware of their intention to work with older people would give valuable insights to nursing education and practice. Despite a plethora of research on measuring intention to work with older people, a valid and reliable instrument has not been identified.

DESIGN: A systematic literature review of evidence and psychometric properties.

DATA SOURCES: Eight database searches were conducted between 2006 - 2016.

REVIEW METHODS: English articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The COSMIN checklist was used to assess instruments reporting a psychometric evaluation of validity and reliability.

RESULTS: Of 41 studies identified for full text review, 36 met the inclusion criteria. Seven different types of instruments were identified for psychometric evaluation. Measures of reliability were reported in eight papers and validity in five papers. Evidence for each measurement property was limited, with each instrument demonstrating a lack of information on measurement properties. Based on the COSMIN checklist, the overall quality of the psychometric properties was rated as poor to good.

CONCLUSION: No single instrument was found to be optimal for use. Studies of high methodological quality are needed to properly assess the measurement properties of the instruments that are currently available. Until such studies are available, we recommend using existing instruments with caution.