Psychometric Evaluation of a Hospital Culture Questionnaire

Health care research increasingly recognizes that organizational characteristics such as hospital culture influence treatment success. Since no German-language questionnaire exists for assessing this aspect of the healthcare sector, we developed the Hospital Culture Questionnaire on the basis of the Corporate Culture Scale Short Form. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the Hospital Culture Questionnaire on both item and scale level using structural equation modeling. Comparing different item configurations in a sample of 272 staff members showed that a 3- and 4-factor solution exhibited the best data fit. We chose the 4-factor solution, analogous to the Corporate Culture Scale Short Form. The high correlation between the factors cooperation and leadership indicated a second order factor representing interaction. All scales proved to be internally consistent, and there was evidence of construct validity. Further in-depth studies are necessary.