Elaboration and validity of admission and discharge checklists in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Objective: To develop and validate the content of checklists for safe admission and discharge in Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Methods: A methodological study conducted between 2018 and 2020 in four stages: 1) literature review; 2) checklist construction; 3) content validity by 32 neonatal nursing specialists from different Brazilian states, predominantly from the southeastern region; 4) development of the final version of the instruments. Validity was performed using a Likert-type scale. Items with a Content Validity Index of 0.90 or higher were accepted. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Results: The contents of two checklists were constructed and validated: one for admission, with 18 items, and another for discharge, with seven items. For the admission checklist, 41.03% of items were validated in the first round, 33.33%, in the second, and 23.08%, in the third. One item was excluded for not achieving the minimum Content Validity Index (>0.90). For the discharge checklist, all items achieved a CVI ≥ 0.90, with 64.7% validated in the first round and 35.3% in the second round. No items were excluded. Conclusion: The content of patient safety checklists for admission and discharge in Neonatal Intensive Care Units was considered valid.