Korean Translation of the Barriers to Research Utilization Scale: Psychometric Testing.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Barriers or Facilitators to Using Research in Practice (BARRIERS) scale for use in Korea.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used with 364 nurses working in clinical settings. Item analysis was conducted and convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficients.

RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a 4-factor structure with 25 items that explained 62.9% of the variance. Convergent and discriminant validity were confirmed as examining the factor loading, average variance extracted, and composite reliability. The values of factor loading for 25 items were having higher estimate than criterion and the average variance extracted value for 4 factors ranged from .575 to .667. The Cronbach's alpha was .90 for the 25 items.

CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the 25-item BARRIERS scale was a reliable and valid scale to measure barriers to research use in Korean health care settings. Based on this psychometric evaluation, research barriers and its associated factors will be investigated using the Korean version of the BARRIERS scale in further study.