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Measuring parental uncertainty during the diagnosis phase of serious illness in a child
1Yale University School of Nursing, 100 Church Street South, PO Box 9740, New Haven, CT 06536-0740, USA. sheila.santacroce@yale.edu
Insights
This study revised the Parental Perception of Uncertainty Scale (PPUS) to measure parental uncertainty in children with serious illnesses. The revised scale shows promising reliability and validity for this important clinical assessment.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Research
- Psychometrics
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Parental uncertainty is a significant challenge during a child's serious illness diagnosis.
- Existing measurement tools may require refinement to accurately capture this experience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To revise and evaluate the Parental Perception of Uncertainty Scale (PPUS).
- To ensure the scale effectively measures parental uncertainty during a child's serious illness diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Literature review to elaborate the concept of parental uncertainty.
- Revision of original PPUS items by nurse and parent experts for content validity.
- Preliminary psychometric evaluation using a sample of mothers of HIV-seropositive infants.
Main Results:
- The revised PPUS demonstrated initial support for its reliability.
- The revised PPUS demonstrated initial support for its validity.
- Expert review confirmed content validity of the revised scale.
Conclusions:
- The revised Parental Perception of Uncertainty Scale (PPUS) is a potentially reliable and valid instrument.
- This revised scale can be used to measure parental uncertainty in the context of pediatric serious illness.
- Further research is warranted to confirm psychometric properties in diverse populations.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to revise and evaluate the Parental Perception of Uncertainty Scale (PPUS) for use in measuring parental uncertainty during the diagnosis of serious illness in a child. The concept of parental uncertainty during diagnosis was elaborated and original PPUS items were revised based on a review of the literature. Content validity of the revision was judged by nurse and parent experts. Preliminary psychometric evaluation of the measure was conducted in a sample of 25 biological mothers of infants who are HIV seropositive. The results offer initial support for the reliability and validity of the revised instrument.