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A measure of critical care nurses' post-code stress
F L Cole1, E M Slocumb, J Muldoon Mastey
1University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Nursing, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. fcole@son1.nur.uth.tmc.edu
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|May 1, 2001
Summary
A new scale effectively measures post-code stress in critical care nurses, identifying key stress dimensions like feeling discomposed and morally conflicted. This tool aids in understanding and addressing this specific occupational stressor.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Research
- Psychometric Instrument Development
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- Critical care nurses face numerous stressors.
- Post-code stress, arising from resuscitation attempts, is a significant but unmeasured stressor.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an instrument for measuring post-code stress in critical care nurses.
- To examine the psychometric properties of the developed scale.
Main Methods:
- Instrument development involved expert content validity assessment.
- Psychometric testing included reliability (stability) and construct validity assessments using a sample of critical care nurses.
- Exploratory principal components factor analysis was employed.
Main Results:
- The Post-Code Stress Scale demonstrated a 14-item structure with good internal consistency (0.79).
- Factor analysis identified five dimensions of post-code stress: discomposed, oppressed, uncertain, burdened, and morally conflicted.
- Preliminary construct validity was supported by a correlation of 0.46 with the Nursing Stress Scale.
Conclusions:
- The developed Post-Code Stress Scale shows promise for measuring this specific stressor in critical care settings.
- Further psychometric validation is recommended to confirm the instrument's utility.