Translation, adaptation and validation of the Survey of Violence Experienced by Staff for the French-Speaking Home Care Setting (SOVES-Fr-HC)

Background Workplace violence towards formal caregivers in home care settings is a pressing issue that affects the health of these caregivers. Additionally, in the case of workplace violence, the quality of care is at risk more broadly, affecting the sustainability of the whole health care system. To gather information on workplace violence, it is crucial to understand its prevalence, identify risk factors, and develop effective interventions to protect formal caregivers and improve their working conditions. The Survey of Violence Experienced by Staff German version Revised (SOVES-G-R) is the only questionnaire that explores the frequency, context, perceptions, and consequences of workplace violence towards formal caregivers. It includes two psychometric instruments, the Perception of Aggression Scale short version (POAS-S) and the Perception of Intervention Skills Scale (POIS), which assess caregivers’ perceptions of workplace violence and its management. However, the SOVES is available only in English and German. To enhance its applicability in other languages, this study aimed to translate the SOVES into French, adapt it to the home care setting and assess the construct validity and internal consistency of the French versions of the POAS-S and POIS. Method After the translation and adaptation of the SOVES in the French-speaking home care setting (SOVES-Fr-HC), an electronic version was completed from March to November 2022 by 177 formal caregivers working with care receivers living at home in the French-speaking area of Switzerland. Exploratory factor analysis with orthogonal rotation (oblimin) was conducted, and McDonald’s omega was calculated for the French versions of the POAS-S and POIS via R. Results Exploratory factor analysis of the POIS revealed a 2-factor solution explaining 48% of the variance, with an internal consistency of ω = 0.88 for the total scale. The POAS-S analysis revealed a 3-factor solution explaining 32% of the variance, with an internal consistency of ω = 0.64 for the total scale. Conclusion The SOVES-Fr-HC is a valid instrument that provides crucial data for identifying necessary measures to address workplace violence effectively in the French-speaking home care setting. For further research, it is crucial to test the French versions of the POAS-S and POIS on a larger sample.