Reliability and validity of a Turkish language version of the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate content and construct validity of a Turkish language version of the Bates Wound Assessment Tool (BWAT) as well as its internal consistency and interrater reliability.

Subjects and setting: The study was conducted in 13 intensive care units that included patients with pressure ulcers; the units were located in a university hospital in Central Anatolia, Turkey. The sample comprised 70 nurses and 20 patients who have stage II, III, and IV pressure ulcers.

Methods: Data were collected between January and April 2011. Content validity was measured using the Davis Technique. The BWAT was scored by 2 groups, nurses with expertise in wound care and staff nurses. An expert nurse and a ward nurse conducted pressure ulcer evaluation on the same patient consecutively in order to determine interrater reliability. We also measured internal consistency via the Cronbach α.

Results: The content validity agreement rate was 0.82. The interrater reliability of the instrument was 0.82; its internal consistency calculated via the Cronbach α was 0.85.

Conclusion: The findings of this study support the Turkish language version of the BWAT as possessing content validity, interrater reliability and internal consistency.