Digital competencies are essential skills in modern nursing practice. Until now, no
validated instrument has been available for assessing these competencies among nursing
students in German-speaking countries. This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate
the Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies Scale for this context.The
scale was translated and culturally adapted in accordance with the Principles of Good
Practice for the Translation and Cultural Adaptation Process for Patient-Reported
Outcome Measures of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research.
Content validity was evaluated in a two-stage expert review (n = 20) using the Content
Validity Index. To assess construct validity, a pretest was conducted with 140 nursing
students enrolled in an Austrian bachelor level degree program. Data analysis included
principal component analysis with Varimax rotation and evaluation of internal consistency
(Cronbach's alpha, Spearman-Brown coefficient).The principal component analysis confirmed
the three-factor model ("Basic Computer Skills", "Role", "Applied computer skills:
clinical informatics"), which explained 63.86% of the total variance. Internal consistency
was high for two subscales (α = .92; ρ = .77), and moderate for the third (α = .58).
Known-groups analysis revealed significantly different scores between students with
and without perceived need for additional computer training, supporting construct
validity.With the German translation of the Self-Assessment of Nursing Informatics
Competencies Scale, a valid instrument is now available to assess nursing students'
self-perceived digital competence in German-speaking countries. It can contribute
to quantitatively measuring the learning and teaching of digital competencies in nursing
education.
