Abstract: Objective: To develop a stressor scale for nurses in nursing institutions and to test its reliability and validity, so as to provide an effective tool for evaluating the stress level and stressors of nurses in nursing institutions. Methods: According to literature research and semi-structured interview, qualitative interview data were analyzed and summarized by the KJ method, and the item pool was preliminarily developed, and the initial scale was formed by Delphi method. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 302 nurses in different nursing institutions in Liaoning province by using the initial scale. SPSS 20.0 software was used for statistical analysis of the data to determine the reliability and validity of the scale. Results: The stressor scale for nurses in nursing institutions consisted of 46 items; the exploratory factor analysis identified five principal factors and explained for 69.979% variance. The item content validity index ranged from 0.824 to 1.000, the scale content validity index was 0.937. The Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.892 and test-retest reliability was 0.905. Conclusion: The scale has good reliability and validity, and can be used to evaluate the stress level and stressors of nurses in nursing institutions in China.

Key words: nursing institutions; nurse staff; work stressors; KJ method