TIME wound assessment tool: interobserver agreement

Abstract

Objective: To verify interobserver agreement on wound evaluation using the TIME tool. Methods: Exploratory, nonexperimental study with cross-sectional design and quantitative approach. The population consisted of undergraduate students from the eighth, ninth and tenth periods of the baccalaureate nursing course, enrolled in the second semester of 2018. An expositive-dialogued class about the TIME tool was prepared and presented to the participants. The students were directed to the teaching hospital for socialization of clinical cases and individual evaluation of ten skin lesions with different clinical characteristics in the hospitalized patient, using the TIME tool. To identify the agreement between the students, when using the TIME tool, the Kappa agreement coefficient was used. Results: The number of undergraduates who were attending the ninth period of the course (80%), female (80%), and average age (23.2 years) prevailed. Considering the Kappa classification, there was excellence (K = 1.0) in interobserver agreement in all stages of the TIME tool. Conclusion: It is inferred that the TIME tool ensures agreement in the evaluation of wounds among nursing undergraduates who are attending the last course periods, and may contribute to improving the quality of nursing care.