Validity, Reliability, and Relevance of a Measurement Tool for Childcare Providers' Work-Related Stress and Job Satisfaction

Research Findings: Childcare provider stress and job satisfaction has been found to influence childcare quality in high-income contexts, but this phenomenon has yet to be studied in a low- or middle-income country. In 2019-2020, we tested the reliability and validity of the Child Care Center Work Environment Scale (CCCWES) with 416 childcare providers in Da Nang and Quang Nam provinces, Vietnam. We assessed content and face validity and utilized item information within each factor to refine the CCCWES. We assessed convergent validity by evaluating the association between the constructs and childcare quality. In this setting, the original 50-item scale could be shortened to a reliable and valid 22-item scale. The scale comprised two factors: workplace stress and job satisfaction. Workplace stress was negatively associated with childcare quality (beta=-0.100,95%CI=(-0.198,0.003)). Job satisfaction was positively associated with childcare quality (beta = 0.154,95%CI=(0.056,0.251)). Practice or Policy: There is a need to measure work-related stress and job satisfaction among childcare providers in order to appropriately target interventions to reduce stress and to optimize support. We offer programs a short-form instrument that reliably measures childcare providers' workplace stress and job satisfaction in Vietnam.