Development and assessment of the content validity of the professional good practices scale in nursing homes

Recent approaches in the care of older people have led to a greater emphasis on good practices to prevent elder abuse. The instruments assessing good practices are very limited, and those focused on elder abuse have rarely considered subtle forms, especially in institutional settings. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the content validity of a good practices scale for professionals working in nursing homes. An extensive literature review of the tools assessing professionals' good-bad practices towards older people was conducted. A preliminary scale based on Kayser-Jones' (1990) [Old, Alone and Neglected: Care of the Aged in Scotland and the United States. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press] types of abuse was developed, including four subscales: Personalization, Humanization, Absence of Infantilization, and Absence of Victimization. Content validity was analyzed through a panel of eight experts. Rovinelli and Hambleton's index of item-objective congruence was used to analyze the items' inclusiveness in the assigned subscale to establish their representativeness. Items' relevance and clarity were analyzed using the paired comparison method. The final version of the scale included 56 items, with appropriate levels of item objective-congruence, relevance, and clarity. This instrument will allow professionals to detect and develop awareness and intervention programs that aim to promote good practices in nursing homes.