Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Chinese Version of the Quality of Life Scale for Shift-Working Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Shift work exerts a significant impact on nurses’ lives and health. However, there is currently no dedicated instrument in China for assessing the effect of shift work on nurses’ quality of life. This study aimed to translate the Quality of Life Scale for Shift-Working Nurses (QoLS-SWN) into Chinese and evaluate its psychometric properties, including reliability and validity, among Chinese nurses. Methods A total of 426 clinical nurses were recruited from three Grade A tertiary hospitals in Jinzhou and Panjin cities, Liaoning Province, via convenience sampling in August 2025. With permission from the original authors, the scale was translated following the Brislin guidelines. Item analysis, reliability testing, and validity testing were conducted using demographic data and the Chinese version of the Nursing Surveillance Scale. Data were analyzed with SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 26.0. Results The Chinese Version of the Quality of Life Scale for Shift-Working Nurses (C-QoLS-SWN) consists of 3 dimensions and 20 items. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) ranged from 0.86 to 1.00, and the scale-level content validity index/average (S-CVI/Ave) was 0.97, indicating good content validity. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) identified 3 common factors: Health Risks and Job Safety (Items 1–6), Physical and Mental Exhaustion (Items 7–17), and Social and Psychological Interactions (Items 18–20), with a cumulative variance explanation rate of 76.621%. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) demonstrated an acceptable model fit (χ²/df = 3.317, IFI = 0.931, TLI = 0.917, CFI = 0.930, GFI = 0.830, RMSEA = 0.092, RMR = 0.076). Additionally, the square root of the average variance extracted (AVE) for each dimension was greater than the correlation coefficient between dimensions, indicating good discriminant validity. For reliability, the overall Cronbach’s α coefficient of the C-QoLS-SWN was 0.964, with Cronbach’s α coefficients of 0.929, 0.959, and 0.840 for the three dimensions, respectively. The split-half reliability was 0.920, and the test-retest reliability was 0.936, all meeting psychometric standards. Conclusion The Chinese Version of the Quality of Life Scale for Shift-Working Nurses (C-QoLS-SWN) shows satisfactory reliability and validity, and can be used to measure the impact of shift work on the quality of life of Chinese nurses.