Development of the nurse care assessment for in-hospital spinal cord injury rehabilitation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: STUDY DESIGN: A development and reliability study. OBJECTIVES: To develop an assessment tool designed to categorize the care needs of inpatients with Spinal Cord Injuries. SETTING: Spinal Cord Injury Centre of Western Denmark. METHODS: Inspired by previous tools, NCA-SCI was refined through an iterative process with experienced clinicians. Content validity was established via consensus meetings and focus group interviews, resulting in 17 items across five categories: no/minor assistance, moderate assistance, severe nursing assistance, and unstable situations needing extensive nursing care. Face validity was ensured through iterative clinical feedback, and reliability was tested with four nurses scoring 36 patients. RESULTS: Content validity and feedback led to a comprehensive, practical tool. Inter-rater reliability showed 81.4% agreement (Kappa = 0.69), while intra-rater reliability had 78.9% agreement (Kappa = 0.65), indicating moderate reliability. CONCLUSION: The NCA-SCI assesses nursing care needs in SCI rehabilitation, offering a practical tool with moderate reliability. The development of the NCA-SCI led to an easily usable tool for planning and coordinating daily care at a highly specialized unit.
Source: Spinal Cord Series and Cases
Authors: Frederik Skovbjerg, Stephanie Hilsløv Bøhm, Erhard Trillingsgaard Næss-Schmidt, Randi Kjær Steensgaard, Simon Svanborg Kjeldsen
Institutions: Aarhus University, Regionshospitalet Viborg
Language: English
Topic: Spinal Cord Injury Research
Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
Funder: Aarhus Universitet
OpenAlex ID: W4408969327