20.500.12556/DKUM-92961 Psychometric testing of the caring assessment tool: Educational version (CAT-Edu©) Background Caring is fundamental to quality nursing education, fostering effective nurse-patient relationships, empathy, and holistic care. Globally, including in Slovenia, nursing institutions struggle to integrate caring behaviors into curricula due to a lack of culturally sensitive assessment tools. This limits the measurement and development of caring competencies, potentially affecting education quality and patient outcomes. Objectives To translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Caring Assessment Tool-educational version (CAT-edu). Design A cross-sectional, descriptive study design was used to evaluate the CAT-edu's psychometric properties. Setting Four nursing faculties, with data collected from October 2021 until February 2022. Participants A convenience sample of 703 undergraduate student nurses enrolled in first-cycle Bologna degree programs. Methods The CAT-edu was translated using forward- and back-translation. Content validity indices were calculated to evaluate content validity by nine experts, and ten educators assessed face validity. Construct validity was evaluated through principal component analysis and internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and RStudio. Results Content validity was strong, with most items achieving high content validity indices; however, three items (26, 52, and 74) scored slightly lower. Construct validity was confirmed through principal component analysis, with Bartlett's test of Sphericity (p < 0.001) and a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.974 indicating suitability. Seven components explained 59.70 % of the variance. The 62-item version showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97). Limitations The study lacked a test-retest reliability assessment and may have limited potential generalizability due to convenience sampling and specific sample demographics. Conclusions The first Slovenian version of the CAT-edu for assessing caring behaviors in nursing education is a culturally sensitive and relatively psychometrically robust instrument. It supports faculty development, curriculum enhancements, and institutional policies. Addressing gaps like noncaring behaviors can foster caring competencies and improve patient outcomes. Caring Education nursing Ssudents psychometrics skrb izobraževanje zdravstvena nega študenti psihometrija true true true Elsevier Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Znanstveno delo 2025-05-28 13:30:36 2025-05-28 15:02:26 2025-05-29 03:22:08 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 Str. 1-9 Letn. 151 št. članka 106720 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2024-06-12 2025-03-28 2025-08-01 0260-6917 616-083:378:159.938 231007747 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106720 1532-2793 1-s2.0-S026069172500156X-main.pdf 1-s2.0-S026069172500156X-main.pdf 1 7306A1D703C0408DC25A23C81A13E20F 3e750cab21a2429b7f74b3953f159ad0a524ca01f19d7516c1419206be4ed3f3 3a20495e-3bb7-11f0-a3df-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=191419 1-s2.0-S026069172500156X-mmc1.docx 1-s2.0-S026069172500156X-mmc1.docx 1 088B6F192D90D3712872EA9A4FA7A382 bfbe82a8953d1d737e562a7891100ab1350e69dd8349b9b15231c1ccb10228bc 6a73805b-3bb7-11f0-a3df-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=191420 https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S026069172500156X?httpAccept=text/xml 1 2f470aa7-3bb7-11f0-a3df-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=191417 https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S026069172500156X?httpAccept=text/plain 1 2f490182-3bb7-11f0-a3df-00155d000105 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=191418 Fakulteta za zdravstvene vede 0 0 0