Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Department of Health Sciences, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Krems, Austria.
PLoS One. 2021 Nov 15;16(11):e0259648. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259648. eCollection 2021.
Parents' meaningful activities (occupations) and occupational balance are relevant to neonatal care. Valid and reliable self-reported measurement instruments are needed to assess parents' occupational balance and to evaluate occupational balance interventions in neonatal care. The aims of this study were to develop a self-reported questionnaire on occupational balance in informal caregivers (OBI-Care) and to examine its measurement properties including construct validity and internal consistency.
A mixed method multicenter study design was employed. Items of the OBI-Care were created with parents of preterm infants based on qualitative research methods. Measurement properties were analyzed with quantitative data of parents of preterm infants. Construct validity was assessed by determining dimensionality, overall and item fit to a Rasch model, differential item functioning and threshold ordering. Internal consistency was examined by determining inter-item and item-total correlations, Cronbach's alpha and Rasch's person separation index. Fourteen parents participated in item creation. Measurement properties were explored in data of 304 parents. Twenty-two items, summarized in three subscales were compiled to the OBI-Care. Items showed an overall fit and except one item, an item fit to the Rasch model. There was no evidence of differential item functioning and all items displayed ordered thresholds. Each subscale had good values of person separation indices and Cronbach's alpha.
The OBI-Care demonstrates construct validity and internal consistency and is thus a suitable measurement instrument to assess occupational balance of parents of preterm infants in neonatal care. OBI-Care is generic and can be applied in various health care settings.
父母的有意义活动（职业）和职业平衡与新生儿护理相关。需要有效的、可靠的自我报告测量工具来评估父母的职业平衡，并评估新生儿护理中的职业平衡干预措施。本研究的目的是开发一种针对非正式照护者职业平衡的自我报告问卷（OBI-Care），并检验其测量特性，包括结构有效性和内部一致性。
采用混合方法多中心研究设计。OBI-Care 的项目是基于早产儿父母的定性研究方法创建的。采用早产儿父母的定量数据分析测量特性。结构有效性通过确定维度、整体和项目对 Rasch 模型的拟合、差异项目功能和阈值排序来评估。内部一致性通过确定项目间和项目总分的相关性、克朗巴赫α和 Rasch 的个体分离指数来检验。14 位父母参与了项目的创建。304 位父母的定量数据用于探索测量特性。22 个项目，总结为三个子量表，构成了 OBI-Care。项目总体拟合良好，除一个项目外，一个项目与 Rasch 模型拟合良好。没有证据表明存在差异项目功能，所有项目都显示出有序的阈值。每个子量表的个体分离指数和克朗巴赫α都有很好的数值。
OBI-Care 具有结构有效性和内部一致性，因此是一种适合评估新生儿护理中早产儿父母职业平衡的测量工具。OBI-Care 是通用的，可以应用于各种医疗保健环境。
