Psychometric validation of the Kolcaba General Comfort Questionnaire in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of validated tools to measure comfort in critically ill patients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the General Comfort Questionnaire (GCQ) in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). METHODOLOGY: A total of 580 patients were recruited, randomising the sample into two homogeneous subgroups of 290 patients for exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. The GCQ was used to assess patient comfort. Reliability, structural validity, and criterion validity were analysed. RESULTS: The final version included 28 of the 48 items from the original version of the GCQ. This tool was named the Comfort Questionnaire (CQ)-ICU, maintaining all types and contexts of the Kolcaba theory. The resulting factorial structure included seven factors: psychological context, need for information, physical context, sociocultural context, emotional support, spirituality, and environmental context. A Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.785 was obtained, with Bartlett's sphericity test (0.000) being significant, and the total variance explained was 49.750%. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.807, with subscale values ranging from 0.788 to 0.418. Regarding convergent validity, high positive correlations were obtained between the factors and the GCQ score, the CQ-ICU score, and the criterion item GCQ31: "I am content". In terms of divergent validity, correlations were low with the APACHE II scale and with the NRS-O except for physical context (-0.267). CONCLUSION: The Spanish version of the CQ-ICU is a valid and reliable tool to assess comfort in an ICU population 24 h after admission. Although the resulting multidimensional structure does not replicate the Kolcaba Comfort Model, all types and contexts of the Kolcaba theory are included. Therefore, this tool enables an individualised and holistic evaluation of comfort needs.

Women's satisfaction with maternity care during preterm birth.

BACKGROUND: Women's satisfaction with maternity care is strongly influenced by their sociodemographic characteristics, values, and attitudes. The arrival of a preterm baby is often a traumatic time, with unique factors involved. The Spanish Preterm Birth Experience and Satisfaction Scale (P-BESS) is a robust instrument capable of assessing women's satisfaction during preterm birth. The purpose of this study was to assess women's satisfaction with maternity care during labor and birth with preterm babies in a Spanish-speaking population. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. Participants were 182 women who gave birth within 37 weeks' gestation. Factors associated with satisfaction were studied through univariate and bivariate analyses and through multiple linear regression using the backward elimination method. RESULTS: Women reported high satisfaction with maternity care overall (average score of 84 out of 95). Women with a university education were generally less satisfied. Women were more satisfied if they were pregnant for the first time. Women who reported a previous premature birth or neonatal death were more satisfied, and women who had prior miscarriages were less satisfied compared with women without these experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis confirmed that the majority of women surveyed were very satisfied with their childbirth experience. The Spanish P-BESS can be a useful way of prioritizing intervention measures, focusing on those aspects lowest scored by women, such as "information and explanations" and "confidence in staff," to improve maternity services for families experiencing preterm birth.

Validation of a questionnaire designed to measure nursing student satisfaction with practical training.

OBJECTIVE: to validate an instrument designed to assess practical training and measure nursing student satisfaction with clinical practice modules. METHOD: cross-sectional study (academic year 2014-2015). Validation of the self-administered, anonymous, 17-item Nursing Student Satisfaction with Practical Training Questionnaire, developed by consensus by eight practical training experts in three nominal group sessions. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess internal consistency and validity. Student satisfaction was measured in relation to each module and all modules as a whole. RESULTS: 174 responses. High item-test correlation (≥0.90); Cronbach's alpha = 0.91; Káiser-Meyer-Olkin index =0.86; the results of the Bartlett sphericity test were statistically significant (p<0.001); S-stress=0.17; R2=0.81. Exploratory factor analyses identified 4 factors: simulation, teacher tutoring, care facility selected for the placement, and clinician tutoring. Total explained variance was 66.6%. Confirmatory factor analysis obtained a chi-squared value of 285.275 (p= 0.000). Student satisfaction increases proportionately with each academic year. CONCLUSION: the questionnaire was shown to have good validity and is therefore a reliable instrument for measuring level of nursing student satisfaction with practical training in both clinical and simulated environments.

Translation, adaptation and psychometric validation of the preterm birth experience and satisfaction scale (P-BESS) into Spanish.

BACKGROUND: Preterm labour and birth are two of the most important issues in perinatal care. The birth of a preterm baby is often a stressful and traumatic time for parents. Assessment of satisfaction with maternity services is crucial and questionnaires are the most common method as long as they are well-constructed. Only one, The Preterm Birth Experience and Satisfaction Scale (P-BESS), developed in United Kingdom, has been designed for this specific birth type. OBJECTIVES: To translate, transculturally adapt and assess the psychometric properties of the P-BESS into Spanish. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Maternity unit of a tertiary level hospital in Spain. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 182 woman who gave birth before 37 weeks of gestation. METHODS: The instrument was translated and back translated. The P-BESS was tested for face validity and construct validity by carrying out an exploratory/confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was estimated from the internal consistency, with the Cronbach's alpha (α), and the test-retest, with the  intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). FINDINGS: The principal component analysis revealed the presence of three factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, explaining a total variance of 66.6%. A subsequent varimax rotation revealed the presence of strong loadings on each of the three components. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed, offering the model a very good fit to the data: chi-square was χ2(df=149)=362.727 (p = 0.000); the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.089; the normed fix index (NFI )= 0.852 and the comparative fit index (CFI)=0.905. The total scale and subscales had good reliability with all Cronbach´s alpha above the acceptable level of 0.7. The total ICC was 0.994 (CI 95%, 0.988-0.997). CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of P-BESS appears to be a robust, valid and reliable instrument for assessing satisfaction with care during preterm birth. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the instrument provides a more comprehensive understanding of this complex experience. It allows the detection of areas of intervention in order to empower strategies to cope with preterm births and to maximise feelings of self-confidence and control.

Validity of instruments for measuring the satisfaction of a woman and her partner with care received during labour and childbirth: Systematic review.

BACKGROUND: patient satisfaction as an indicator of quality of care is becoming more and more important. The use of questionnaires is the most common method to evaluate satisfaction with maternity care. Despite the extensive variety of instruments available for this purpose, they vary widely in terms of their content and quality. OBJECTIVES: to identify, assess and summarize the most recent and robust instruments available to measure woman and partner satisfaction with the overall package of care during the labour and birth of their baby within a hospital setting. DESIGN: systematic review. METHODS: sixteen electronic databases were consulted. The research also included hand searching references of identified articles. Studies were assessed by two independent reviewers. Inclusion criteria were that participants were mothers and their respective partners and that the questionnaire was a multidimensional instrument used for measuring satisfaction with care during the labour and birth of a baby. Furthermore, the psychometric properties related to construction, reliability and validity of the questionnaire had to be reported. FINDINGS: seventeen studies were included. The majority of the questionnaires was developed within Europe and was disparate in terms of sample, items, dimensions and collection time. Most of them were limited to healthy women with low obstetric risk pregnancies. Only one instrument included partners as the subject of study. All questionnaires reported at least one aspect of reliability, content and construct validity. CONCLUSIONS: there are a moderate number of instruments capable of measuring maternal satisfaction with the care received during labour and birth within a hospital setting. Our study provides an overview of the most up-to-date, valid and reliable tools available. Further investigations are needed in order to improve existing instruments by performing additional psychometric tests, considering more specific populations and assessing the satisfaction of the partner and mother jointly. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: assessments of satisfaction with care during labour and birth are relevant to healthcare professionals, administrators and policy makers. Therefore, these instruments are able to assist them according to their specific needs.

Evaluation of the effect of an intervention on the nutritional status of hospitalized patients. / Evaluación del efecto de una intervención en el estado nutricional de pacientes hospitalizados.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To compare the nutritional status of a population of hospitalized patients, divided into 2 different groups, both at admission and hospital discharge, and to assess the influence of nutritional alteration during the hospital stay. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Quasi-experimental study comprising 2 groups of patients (N=581); an intervention group (n=303), in which nurses received specific training on managing care methodology, and a control group (n=278), in which nurses continued their usual dynamics. Each group was made up of 2 care units with patients from both surgical and medical specialties. INCLUSION CRITERIA: patients admitted to the selected units with a minimum stay of 5 days. The sample selection was performed prospectively and consecutively after implementing the training. RESULTS: Of the 581 patients studied, 49.4% were women and 50.6% were men. Mean patient age was 68.29 (SD 16.23) years. In the intervention group, the odds ratio (OR) associated with good nutritional status was multiplied by 1.7 (OR=1.67) compared to the control group in the first evaluation and by 1.4 times (OR=1.43) at hospital discharge. The average stay in days was higher in the control group (13.71, SD 10.19) than in the intervention group (10.89, SD 7.49) (P<.001). CONCLUSION: The systematic methodology-based intervention in the chosen units was positive. Patients admitted to the intervention units had a lower nutritional alteration and a shorter hospital stay than those admitted to the control units.

[Nutrition-related risk factors in autonomous non-institutionalized adult elderly people]. / Factores asociados al riesgo nutricional en adultos mayores autónomos no institucionalizados.

OBJECTIVES: To determine factors related to nutritional riskin autonomous non-institutionalized adult elder people. METHODS: Cross-sectional study including 660 autonomous non-institutionalized adult elder people. Participants were assessed in 12 social centres (province of Valencia) and selected using stratified sampling by blocks. INCLUSION CRITERIA: age 65 or over, living at home, functionally autonomous, having lived for more than 1 year in the province of Valencia, regularly visiting social centres and voluntary participation in the study. MNA is used for nutritional assessment and factors associated to nutritional status are collected by means of an ad-hoc survey. RESULTS: Out of the 660 study subjects, 48.33% are male and 51.67% are female, mean age is 74.3±6,57. 23.33% show malnutrition risk. Independent factors associated to malnutrition risk -with adjusted prevalence odds ratioare: absence of academic education (OR=2.29), feeling lonely (OR=2.34), following controlled diets (OR=0.55), reduced appetite (OR=2.56), number of fractions in daily intake (OR=0.66), suffering from xerostomia (OR=1.72), swallowing difficulties (OR=2.30), number of chronic diseases (OR=1.38) and having suffered from acute diseases during the last year (OR=2.03). An increase in BMI is associated with a good nutritional status (OR=0.85). These factors have allowed an accurate classification of 80% of the surveyed patients. CONCLUSIONS: Numerous chronic diseases, recent acute diseases, non-controlled diets, xerostomia and swallowing difficulties, eating few times a day and little appetite, feelling lonely and lacking from academic education are factors allowing the prediction of malnutrition risk in adult elder people.

Objetivos: Determinar factores asociados al riesgo nutricional en adultos mayores autónomos no institucionalizados. Métodos: Estudio transversal realizado en 660 adultos mayores autónomos, no institucionalizados. Los participantes fueron evaluados en 12 centros sociales (provincia de Valencia) seleccionados mediante un muestreo estratificado por bloques. Criterios de inclusión: tener 65 años o más, vivir en el domicilio, poseer autonomía funcional, residir más de un año en la provincia de Valencia, acudir periódicamente a los centros sociales y colaborar voluntariamente en el estudio. Se usa el MNA para la valoración nutricional y se recogen factores asociados al estado nutricional en una encuesta adhoc. Resultados: De los 660 sujetos estudiados, el 48,33% son hombres y el 51,67% mujeres, la edad media es de 74,3±6,57 años. El 23,33% presentan riesgo de malnutrición. Los factores independientes asociados al riesgo de malnutrición, con el odds de prevalencia ajustada, son: no poseer estudios (OR=2,29), sentir soledad (OR=2,34), mantener dietas controladas (OR=0,55), un apetito escaso (OR=2,56), número de fracciones en la ingesta diaria (OR=0,66), sufrir xerostomía (OR=1,72), tener dificultades para deglutir (OR=2,30), el número de enfermedades crónicas (OR=1,38) y haber sufrido enfermedades agudas en el último año (OR=2,03). Un incremento en el IMC se asocia a un buen estado nutricional (OR=0,85). Estos factores nos han permitido clasificar correctamente a un 80% de los pacientes encuestados. Conclusiones: Tener numerosas enfermedades crónicas, haber sufrido enfermedades agudas recientes, mantener dietas sin control, sufrir xerostomía y dificultad para deglutir, comer pocas veces al día y con escaso apetito, sentirse solo y no tener estudios son factores que, permiten predecir el riesgo de malnutrición en los adultos mayores.