The italian version of the hospital ethical climate survey: First psychometric evaluations in a sample of healthcare professionals employed in neurorehabilitation medicine and palliative care specialties

This study aims to assess, through psychometric evaluations, a preliminary Italian version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey (HECS), checking its factor structure through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirming the resulting factor structure in a second sample using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). This research included a total of 315 Italian healthcare professionals working in neuro-rehabilitation medicine and palliative care units from six hospitals. EFA revealed a two-factor structure, including ethical vision of patient care and managerial support. CFA on the second sample confirmed the factor structure extracted from EFA, displaying good internal consistencies. Correlations showed that both dimensions were positively associated with well-being and social support, while negatively related to burnout and moral distress, supporting construct validity. The Italian version of HECS repre-sents a user-friendly instrument to evaluate the ethical climate perceptions of healthcare professionals who are increasingly at risk of facing ethical dilemmas due to the growing complexity of patient care.