Adaptation and validation of an adult patient classification instrument with emphasis on the family dimension.
Ariane Polidoro Dini, Jamilly Dos Santos Okabe, Stephanie Ziare Kalvan and 2 others
PMID 36995824WHAT IT FOUND
An adult patient classification tool that includes family support was tested on 781 inpatients and sorted them into nursing care categories, with family support included in the score.
Key findings
01The adapted Adult Patient Classification Instrument has 11 indicators in three domains: family, patient and therapeutic procedures, each scored 1 to 4, with higher scores meaning greater nursing care demand.
02In the patient application phase, nurses used the instrument on all adult inpatients for one month; 902 classifications were made and 781 were analysed after 121 were excluded for missing data.
03The three groups of indicators were confirmed, although the therapeutic procedures group did not meet an internal consistency check; the authors kept it because another reliability check was adequate.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in a single general adult ward. Content validation used a convenience group of specialists. Incomplete classifications were excluded. Contact precautions and discharge preparation indicators were left out of the instrument. The therapeutic procedures group did not meet an internal consistency check. The nurses applying the instrument were trained by the researchers. The paper did not test whether using the instrument improves patient outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that the instrument improves patient care, discharge planning or nurse staffing. The paper reports how well the tool measures care demand, not tested clinical effects.