Validating a questionnaire - prehospital preparedness for pediatric trauma patients

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Nursing Research
• Pediatric Trauma Care

Background:

• Prehospital emergency care has advanced, with nurses providing complex care.
• Pediatric trauma patients present unique challenges for prehospital emergency nurses (PENs).
• Limited research exists on PENs' preparedness for pediatric trauma care internationally and in Sweden.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test a questionnaire measuring self-reported preparedness of PENs.
• Focus on pediatric trauma patients in prehospital emergency settings.
• Establish a tool for research and clinical practice improvement.

Main Methods:

• Questionnaire development involved face and content validity testing (38 questions).
• Reliability was assessed using test-retest analysis on 18 questions.
• Statistical content analysis was performed on questionnaire data.

Main Results:

• Fifteen questions met reliability and validity criteria.
• Three questions did not meet stability criteria.
• Content analysis revealed limited experience with pediatric trauma and reported stress symptoms in 50% of participants.

Conclusions:

• The developed questionnaire is suitable for assessing PEN preparedness in pediatric trauma care.
• The tool can inform research and clinical practice to enhance care quality.
• Further validation of the questionnaire is recommended.