Testing an Instrument for Assessing Nursing Intensity in Perioperative Settings: Construct Validity

Abstract

Purpose: To test the construct validity of an instrument to assess nursing intensity in perioperative settings.

Methods: A survey based on 24 core elements of perioperative nursing was used. A total of 652 assessments were performed on 308 patients. Principal component analysis was used.

Findings: A model with four principal components was suggested.

Conclusions: Patients' care needs appear to vary as they progress along the perioperative continuum. Thus, a given instrument's content differs from the intraoperative to postoperative phases.

Implications: More testing is needed to achieve a valid tool for allocating nursing staff in operating departments. Reliable tools are needed to match patients' care needs with available nursing resources.

Keywords: Nursing intensity; patient classification system; perioperative nursing.