Development and Validation of the Competency Evaluation Model for Hospital Infection Prevention and Control Practitioners in the Post-Pandemic Era: A Mixed Methods Study

Cui, Lu; He, Anning; Wang, Xiaohe; Wang, Ying; Huang, Xianhong; Ni, Ziling

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the management of hospital infection became even more crucial. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a competency model for the healthcare practitioners to adhere to combating public health emergencies. AIM: This study was undertaken to determine the practitioners' competence in the hospital infection prevention and control measures that are significant for their competence development. METHOD: Based on the literature review, the key informant interviews, the Delphi method, and the questionnaire survey, a theoretical framework was developed. These items were evaluated based on the response rate, maximum score, minimum score, and mean score. Factor analyses, both exploratory and confirmatory, were used to determine the structure of the competence model. RESULTS: The effective response rate on the questionnaires was 88.29%, and Cronbach's α-coefficient of the scale was 0.964. Factor analysis revealed a KMO of 0.945. The Bartlett's test gave an χ(2) of 10523.439 (df = 435; p < 0.001). After exploratory factor analysis, the 5-factor model was retained, 4 items were deleted, and a 5-dimensional, 26-item scale was obtained. The new structure's confirmatory factor analysis revealed a high goodness of fit (CFI = 0.921; TLI = 0.911; SRMR = 0.053; and RMSEA = 0.044). CONCLUSION: The proposed scale is a useful tool to assess the competence of hospital infection prevention and control practitioners, which can help hospitals to improve their work of infection prevention and control.