Abstract: Objective: To translate the AACN Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool into Chinese, and test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version. Methods: The English version of the tool was translated and back-translated according to Brislin translation model. After modifying the tool according to Chinese culture, the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the tool was tested among a sample of 425 ICU nurses in Hangzhou. Results: The Chinese version of the tool included 6 dimensions and 18 items. 6 factors were extracted by principal component analysis, which could explain 75.884% of the total variance. The Cronbach's α for the tool was 0.908, and the Cronbach's α for six dimensions was among the range from 0.734 to 0.871.The test-retest reliability was 0.870. The correlation coefficient between each dimension and the tool ranged from 0.572 to 0.817 (P<0.01). The range of item-level content validity index (I-CVI) was from 0.830 to 1.000. The average of scale-level content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) was 0.991. Conclusion: The Chinese version of the tool is reliable and valid, and is an effective tool to assess the nursing healthy work environment of ICU.

Key words: healthy work environment; ICU; reliability; validity