Scale Development and Psychometrics for Parents' Satisfaction with Developmental Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Developmental care comprises a wide range of medical and nursing interventions used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to mitigate and reduce stressors affecting preterm or ill neonates. Because patient satisfaction survey is a valuable quality improvement tool, we aimed to develop and test the psychometric properties of a tool for measuring parent satisfaction of developmental care in the NICU.

In this psychometric methodological study, the item pool and initial questionnaire were designed based on a comprehensive literature review and exploring NICU parent satisfaction questionnaires. The validity of the designed questionnaire was determined using face, content (qualitative and quantitative), and construct validity. Exploratory factor analysis was performed using responses from 400 parents of infants hospitalized in the NICUs of 34 hospitals in 2015 in Tehran, Iran. The reliability of the questionnaire was identified using Cronbach's alpha and stability measures.

The initial questionnaire was designed with 72 items in five domains. After testing the face validity, 3 items were omitted. The results of validity testing were acceptable. The exploratory factor analysis was performed on 69 items, and 5 factors (care and treatment with 20 items, information with 15 items, hospital facilities with 9 items, parental education with 7 items, and parental participation with 8 items) were extracted. The reliability was supported by high internal consistency (α = 0.92).

This questionnaire could be valid and reliable tool for measuring parents' satisfaction.