Development of the Nurses' Care Coordination Competency Scale for mechanically ventilated patients in critical care settings in Japan: Part 1 Development of a measuring instrument.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a draft scale measuring nurses' care coordination competency for care of mechanically ventilated patients in critical care settings.

METHOD: The scale items and concepts were derived from semi-structured interviews with 28 professionals (14 nurses, eight physicians, three physical therapists, three clinical engineers) who are managing mechanically ventilated critical care patients. A grounded theory approach was used. After content validation by experts, two pilot tests were used to identify and correct non-discriminating items and vague items. After expert approval, the final draft scale was completed.

SETTING: Intensive care units of acute care hospitals in Japan.

FINDINGS: A scale was drafted with the following six concepts including 51 items of nurses' care coordination competency: (1) understanding care coordination needs (2) devising and clearly articulating the care vision (3) aggregating and disseminating information (4) employing resources (5) promoting team cohesion (6) engaging in situation-based negotiating. The interviewed participants argued that these competencies clearly reflect the inter-professional activities required for well-coordinated and individualised care and improved patient outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings could be utilised to educate and train nursesand establish the awareness that coordinating care is the nurses' responsibility. Future research focusing on its validity and reliability are needed.