SHORT VERSION OF THE WORK VALUES SCALE FOR REGISTERED  NURSES, MIDWIVES, PUBLIC HEALTH NURSES, AND LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES:  DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION            

Elucidating nurses’ work values will contribute to creating a work environment that is consistent with individual nurses’ work values and help them overcome challenging situations. This study aimed to create a short version of the Nurses’ Work Values Scale and verify its psychometric properties and usability among nurses, public health nurses, midwives, and licensed practical nurses. The short version was developed in three steps. In Step 1, a 12-item scale was created from the original 30-item Nurses’ Work Values Scale via a multi-dimensional item response theory based on data obtained from 1587 nurses. In Step 2, we modified the wording of the items and verified the scale’s content validity. In Step 3, we obtained new data from 1220 nurses, public health nurses, midwives, and licensed practical nurses who worked in various settings. Subsequently, we verified the psychometric properties of the 12-item scale. The developed scale made it possible to measure work values among nurses working in hospitals, nursing care facilities, and visiting nursing settings, and also among public health nurses. Simultaneously, the burden of responding to surveys was reduced. Future cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys should use the developed scale and examine a wider range of participants as they may contribute toward accumulating knowledge regarding work values.