Adaptation and pretesting of the College Persistence Questionnaire V3 (Short Form) for measuring intention to persist among Aboriginal Diploma of Nursing students

Background: Culturally appropriate health care delivery is essential to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal peoples. There is a shortage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses partly due to disproportionately high non-completion rates among tertiary sector students. The College Persistence Questionnaire V3 (Short Form) provides scales for gauging major predictors of retention.

Objective: To adapt an instrument for measuring intention to persist among Aboriginal Diploma of Nursing students.

Design: Instrument adaptation and pretesting.

Participants: A convenience sample of Aboriginal Diploma of Nursing students (N=21) at a registered training organisation in Australia.

Methods: The instrument was mapped against the domain of interest and modified. Ten experts reviewed its content validity; its reading ease and educational grade reading level were assessed.

Results: The expert panel endorsed individual items as valid (item-level Content Validity Index 0.90-1.00) and scale-level validation was acceptable (average scale-level Content Validity Index=0.98). The minimally-adapted instrument was 'fairly easy' to read and suitable for general adult audiences (Flesch Reading Ease score 71.3) and was below the United States 8th grade reading level (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 6.7). Students took <30min to complete the questionnaire. All understood its purpose, found instructions clear, and questions easy to answer. Most rated its length 'Just right'.

Conclusion: The College Persistence Questionnaire - Registered Training Organisation Version appears suitable for assessing factors influencing retention/attrition among Aboriginal Diploma of Nursing students. Piloting and psychometric evaluation is recommended.