Development and validation of a daily assessment tool for critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND

Patients in intensive care units require comprehensive care. Hence, improving health care quality depends on accurate assessment and documentation.

AIM

To develop and validate the content of an assessment sheet for critically ill patients.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A Delphi design study was conducted between January and March 2020. The content validity index (CVI) was used to calculate the degree of agreement among the experts to analyse the instrument and the entire set of items. Content validity was determined by seven experts (three critical care nursing professionals, two critical care doctors, and two anaesthesiologists) using a four-point Likert scale. They evaluated the items in terms of the following: 1 = "irrelevant," 2 = "somewhat relevant if the phrasing is profoundly adjusted," 3 = "relevant with some adjustment as to phrasing," and 4 = "very relevant." The CVI was applied, and the accepted value was ≥0.50.

RESULTS

Three rounds of evaluation were required to achieve the minimum index. The items were reviewed for content and face validity. The instrument was validated with 86 items with a total CVI of 0.90, a face validity of 1, and a scale-level content validity index/universal agreement calculation method (S-CVI/UA) value of 0.813.

CONCLUSION

This instrument can help nurses, doctors, academics, and students assess patients in intensive care units.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The daily assessment tool may provide a systematic and consistent approach to critically ill patients' assessment to guide interventions.