Design and content validation of the Transcend instrument for family caregivers

Transcendence is a metaphysical phenomenon of the self that is reflected in caregivers by transforming their attitudes, perceptions, and caregiving meanings about the care recipient and themselves.

To develop and validate the content of the "Transcend" instrument through expert judgment and to determine its preliminary reliability.

This methodological study focused on the design and content validation, via expert judgment, of an instrument to measure family caregiver transcendence called "Transcend," following the methodology proposed by Waltz. The judges assessed instrument's clarity, coherence, and relevance. After validation, the instrument was administered to 30 caregivers to assess its clarity in the population and its preliminary reliability.

Fifteen judges participated in the validation process, and a significant level of agreement was found (p < 0.001) in assessing clarity, coherence, and relevance. The content validity index, both individual and global, was 1.00. All items obtained an Aiken's V value ≥ 0.69, with values falling within the confidence intervals. Preliminary reliability in the pilot testing yielded a Cronbach's alpha of 0.90.

Validity and concordance indices should be interpreted together to determine the level of content validity based on expert judgment.

The Transcend instrument shows adequate content validity and high preliminary reliability, supporting its progression to a second phase of validation, which will be crucial to determining its potential as a tool for assessing transcendence in family caregivers.