National Testing of the Nursing-Kids Intensity of Care Survey for Pediatric Long-term Care.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to test the Nursing-Kids Intensity of Care, a measure of the intensity of nursing care needs, defined as the quantity and type of direct and indirect care activities performed by caregivers in a national sample.

DESIGN AND METHODS: A 40-item tool previously tested in a small sample was psychometrically tested on a sample of 116 children with complex medical conditions by 33 nurse raters across 11 pediatric sites.

RESULTS: The Nursing-Kids Intensity of Care tool demonstrated components of usability, feasibility, inter-rater, test-retest and internal consistency reliability and construct validity in the national study sample.

CONCLUSIONS: Additional testing to further establish psychometric sufficiency and expanded use to quantify the intensity of nursing care needs of children with complex medical conditions in pediatric long-term care settings is recommended.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This novel measure could assist the nursing administrators, educators and staff of pediatric long-term care facilities assess the intensity of care needs of their residents.