Validation of nursing data collection tools in adult intensive care units

Abstract

The present studyaims to elaborate and validate datacollectiontools used in nursingresearch, suchas anamnesisand physical examination. It was carried out in three different phases: elaboration, validation and refinement of the tools. Elaboration was based on Wanda Aguiar Horta's conceptual model of "Basic Human Needs"; validation was performed by a group of twenty-seven ICU nurses from Belo Horizonte and its metropolitan region and SPSS program version 11.5 was used for refining the instruments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, median, standard deviation) and reliability of the instruments was measured using Cronbach's Alpha. A total index agreement of 80% was considered acceptable. A group of researchers evaluated the items of the matrix in which Cronbach's Alpha was higher than 0.9 in order to identify their correlation to the mentioned tools. Validation was performed by expert intensive care nurses who had either master or doctor degree in nursing or in other correlate areas and by nurses with at least two years of professional experience in ICUs. Although nurses had no experience with the selected conceptual model, they considered the items important and useful. The study shows that theory concepts can be incorporated into nurse's clinical practice and that they may facilitate nursing assistance based on this specific framework.