A Delphi study: development of an instrument to assess the risk of inappropriate hospital length of stay
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0231.48085Keywords:
assessment instruments; length of stay; nursing administration research; risk assessmentAbstract
Introduction: Prolonged patient stay in the hospital is an important healthcare indicator, along with delays in hospital discharge, increased risk of complications, and healthcare costs. Therefore, identifying the factors involved and developing targeted interventions are essential to improve the quality of care and optimize hospital management.
Objective: Create an instrument for assessing the risk of inappropriate hospital length of stay.
Methods: A methodological study was developed, with the instrument based on bibliographic reviews and the steps proposed by Coluci, Alexandre, and Milani. This process included a panel of experts with experience in management of discharge teams in Portuguese public hospitals, taking place in three rounds with itemisation, evaluation of clarity, relevance, and representativeness of the domains and defined items; and analysis of results using a content validity index and the rate of validation among the experts.
Results: An instrument with 3 main domains was developed, related to individual characteristics; the patient's social, economic and family context; and community resources. Each domain includes different items that correspond to a specific score, culminating in a final risk score.
Conclusion: Development and validation of a tool for assessing the risk of inappropriate hospital admission, consisting of 23 items across 3 main domains.
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