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Clinical Validation of the Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale in Taiwan
Yu-Jung Chang1, Grace Hao2, Jing-Yang Huang3
1Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Speech and Language Therapy Room, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Purpose:
A successful transition from gavage to full oral feeding is a decisive indicator for discharging premature infants from the neonatal intensive care unit. A clinically useful measure of oral feeding readiness would help nurses initiate implementation of the cue-based feeding model in Taiwan. The study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Traditional Chinese Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale (TC-POFRAS).
Design And Methods:
81 preterm infants were enrolled and assessed by TC-POFRAS regarding their oral feeding readiness. This study included two phases. Phase 1 conducted a cross language validation procedure and item-level content validity indices (I-CVIs) for content validity were estimated. In phase 2, Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency at each category and total scale levels were estimated. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was estimated to explore the scale's performance. The optimal cut-off value of TC-POFRAS was identified by the best Youden's Index [maximum (sensitivity + specificity - 1)].
Results:
All of the I-CVIs were 1.00. The whole Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency was 0.804 (95% CI = 0.736-0.862), and Cronbach's alpha values were between 0.538 (95% = 0.332-0.689) and 0.687 (95%CI = 0.572-0.781) for categories. The area under ROC was 92.2%, and an optimal cut-off value of TC-POFRAS was 29 (sensitivity: 0.938, specificity: 0.941).
Conclusions:
The TC-POFRAS has been verified to be an effective and accurate instrument to determine the initiation of oral feeding in preterm infants.
Practice Implications:
The TC-POFRAS is an appropriate and complementary assessment instrument for professionals to conveniently use in clinical practice.
