Validation of a nursing assessment for hospitalized individuals with infectious diseases

Abstract

To analyze the validity of empirical indicators of basic human needs contained in a nursing assessment for individuals hospitalized with infectious diseases. Methodological study developed in two stages: content analysis and clinical validation. A total of 37 specialist nurses participated in the first stage, and in the second stage there were 65 individuals admitted to the infectious disease clinics of two university hospitals. In the clinical validation, the presence and absence of empirical indicators were evaluated. In the content analysis, 14 empirical indicators were eliminated, considering the relevance criterion. Regarding the criteria of clarity and precision, 33 empirical indicators had their operational definitions reformulated, with Cronbach's alpha from 0.967 to 0.986. In clinical validation, adjustments were made to the final structure of the nursing assessment. It was concluded that the empirical indicators of the nursing assessment adequately represented the focus of interest and showed excellent internal consistency.