Interrater Reliability Testing of the Maternal Fetal Triage Index.

OBJECTIVE

To conduct interrater reliability testing of the Maternal Fetal Triage Index (MFTI), a standardized tool for obstetric triage.

DESIGN

Observational study of a convenience sample of nurses' triage assessments of hospital-based obstetric patients.

SETTING

A birth unit of a suburban hospital located in a large metropolitan region with approximately 5,200 births annually.

PARTICIPANTS

Ten registered nurses provided triage assessments of 211 pregnant women.

METHODS

Using blinded paired triage assessments, we assessed the reproducibility of the triage priority levels assigned using the MFTI.

RESULTS

Priority levels assigned by the MFTI research nurse and the study nurses were in agreement for 154 of the 211 (72.9%) triage assessments. The strength of agreement was classified as good based upon the weighted kappa score of 0.65. There was no statistically significant difference in the accuracy of assigning priority levels between the day and night shifts

CONCLUSION

The interrater reliability of the MFTI met the minimum strength of agreement threshold goal of 0.60 when used by nurses in a large birth unit to assign priority for evaluation. Based on this finding, the MFTI can be recommended for use in obstetric triage settings. Additional testing should be done to measure how this standardized tool improves care processes and outcomes.