Development and Validation of the Organizational Cultural Values Scale for Senior Healthcare Executives in Chinese Hospitals

Background Most existing cultural values scales focus on nonmedical fields and are unsuitable for measuring the cultural values of leaders in the medical field. The cultural values of senior healthcare executives are important in patient safety culture; thus there is an urgent need to construct a scale system to evaluate these cultural values. We aimed to develop a reliable scale for assessing the cultural values of senior healthcare executives. Methods The initial framework of index entries was constructed using literature analysis and a group interview method. Then, the whole system of indicators for cultural values of senior healthcare executives was constructed using the three-round Delphi method. Overall, 94 senior healthcare executives of 13 hospitals were surveyed for reliability and validity. Results The final scale contained 4 primary, 13 secondary, and 39 tertiary indicators. After three rounds of expert consultation, questionnaire collation, and analysis, the recall rates of the indicators were 95%, 100%, and 100%, respectively; the authority coefficients were 0.74, 0.75, and 0.77, respectively; and the coefficient of expert opinion coordination fluctuated above and below 0.4. After using the questionnaire method for validation, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.972, and the cumulative variance contribution of the common factor was 82.56%. Conclusions The cultural values scale for senior healthcare executives had high scientific validity, authority, and good reliability, which can provide a scientific basis for improving patient safety culture and alleviating doctor-patient disputes.