Reliability and Validity of the NDNQI® Injury Falls Measure

Abstract

Although remarkable efforts have been made to improve patient fall reporting through the utilization of standardized definitions, injury falls reporting has rarely been examined. This study used an overall intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) estimate and factor analysis to assess the reliability and validity of the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators® (NDNQI®) falls with injury measure. Data were collected from an online Fall Injury Level Survey that was administered to 1,159 NDNQI site coordinators (39.7% response rate; 91% registered nurses [RNs]). Estimated overall ICC was .85. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a Promax rotation (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.053) identified three latent factors: No Injury, Minor Injury, and Moderate/Major Injuries. Final confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessment (comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.914, Tucker Lewis Index [TLI] = 0.910, RMSEA = 0.048) confirmed an acceptable model fit. Results provided strong evidence that the NDNQI falls with injury measure is reliable and valid in supporting hospitals' fall prevention efforts and future injurious falls research.

Keywords: NDNQI; fall injury levels; injury falls; reliability.