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Development and Content Validity of a Respiratory Distress Observation Scale-Infant
Christine Fortney1, Margaret L Campbell2
1Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth, College of Nursing, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Insights
A new scale, the RDOS-Infant, demonstrates strong content validity for assessing infant respiratory distress in neonatal intensive care units. This tool aims to improve clinical assessment and research reliability for neonates.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Pediatric Respiratory Care
- Clinical Assessment Tools
Background:
- Infant respiratory distress is a common neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) symptom with significant morbidity and mortality risks.
- Current assessment lacks a validated, reliable scale for consistent clinician use and research.
- A validated tool is crucial for accurate measurement in infant respiratory distress studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish the content validity of a modified Respiratory Distress Observation Scale (RDOS) for infants (≥37 weeks gestational age).
- To create a reliable assessment tool for infant respiratory distress.
Main Methods:
- The original RDOS was revised based on infant respiratory characteristics.
- Nine neonatal care experts (neonatologists, NPs, RTs, nurses, scientists) evaluated the revised scale's content validity.
- Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated using expert ratings (≥0.80 item CVI).
Main Results:
- The modified scale achieved a high overall Content Validity Index (CVI) of 0.96.
- Experts recommended including capillary perfusion as a key variable.
- Content validity for the RDOS-Infant was successfully established.
Conclusions:
- The RDOS-Infant shows promise for clinical and research applications in neonatal care.
- Further psychometric testing is needed to confirm reliability and validity.
- This validated scale can enhance the assessment and study of infant respiratory distress.
Abstract:
Respiratory distress is one of the most commonly reported symptoms in infants in the neonatal intensive care unit and can lead to substantial morbidity and mortality if not assessed and managed appropriately. Yet, a validated scale for assessing respiratory distress across clinicians in infants is not available. Furthermore, a valid and reliable scale is needed as a dependent measure in studies about infant respiratory distress. The purpose of this study was to establish a content validity index (CVI) of a modification of the Respiratory Distress Observation Scale© (RDOS) for use with infants who are at least 37 weeks gestational age. The RDOS© was revised using the respiratory characteristics of infants and offered to clinical experts for review. A pool of nine experts in neonatal care, including two neonatologists, two nurse practitioners, one respiratory therapist, two staff nurses, and two nurse scientists, evaluated the revised scale for content validity. The scale CVI was calculated by averaging the item CVIs that were ≥0.80 yielding a scale CVI = 0.96. Our content experts further recommended adding the variable capillary perfusion. Content validity was established. This RDOS-Infant has clinical and research utility if subsequent psychometric testing yields additional acceptable reliability and validity statistics.
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