Development and Validation of a Checklist for the Safety of Hospitalized Children

Abstract

Objective: to develop and validate a checklist of safety actions for hospitalized children. Method: a methodological research study carried out from March 2017 to March 2020 in two phases: 1) Identification of the themes and elaboration of the checklist through the literature review; 2) Content validation with expert judges by means of the Delphi technique, applying the Content Validity Index (CVI), accepting values >0.8 for the CVI per item and >0.9 for the checklist. The data collection instrument was organized using an ordinal progressive valuation scale, of the Likert type. The content validation stage was performed in three rounds using a Google Forms® electronic form. Fifteen experts participated in the survey in the first round and 14 in the second and third rounds. The statistical analysis of the data was performed with the aid of Google Forms® and of the Excel® software, and the results were presented descriptively and in a table. Results: the final version of the checklist consisted of 6 categories and 23 check items, validated with a Content Validity Index of 0.98. The checklist was also validated in relation to the objectives (0.95) and to the structure and presentation (0.98). Conclusion: validation of the content, objectives, structure and presentation of the checklist allows this tool to be implemented in any pediatric hospitalization unit, contributing to the care practice aimed at the safety of hospitalized children.