Construction of a parent satisfaction instrument: perceptions of pediatric intensive care nurses and physicians

The aims of the study were (1) to identify parental satisfaction items through the opinions of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurses and physicians, (2) to reach consensus on the identified items, and (3) to apply factor analysis to evaluate the items and domains toward a PICU parental satisfaction instrument.

Pediatric intensive care unit nurses and physicians working in 8 university hospitals in the Netherlands participated. A 2-round Delphi method was completed. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the satisfaction items and domains.

Three hundred two nurses and 62 physicians participated in the Delphi study, and 269 (76%) completed 2 questionnaire rounds. In Delphi round 2, 14 of the 78 items had a mean of less than 8.0 (range, 1 [low importance] to 10 [high importance]). The interquartile range of all domains decreased by almost half, and only 10 satisfaction items had a heterogeneity of less than 70%. Structure determination revealed that 4 satisfaction items needed to be excluded. Out of 74 satisfaction items, 72 showed factor loadings greater than 0.50. The reliability estimates, Cronbach alpha, for the 6 domains varied from 0.74 to 0.92.

Priorities in parental satisfaction measures are identified. The findings are fundamental in the development of a PICU parental satisfaction instrument.