2021 Volume 41 Pages 241-249
Aims: To develop the Transitional Care of Outpatient Department Nurses (TCODN), a self-evaluation instrument for transitional care practices among outpatient department nurses.
Methods: Based on a literature review and in-depth interviews, we developed a measure for outpatient department nurses to self-evaluate their transitional care practices. A questionnaire survey was conducted with outpatient department nurses in 805 hospitals across Japan, and the validity and reliability of the scale were investigated.
Results: A total of 360 responses (22.3%) were analyzed. An exploratory factor analysis helped identify four factors (25 items): [Standing with patient's intention and support for continuation of their home care life], [Information sharing between the multidisciplinary and support for the patient’s self-care], [Support for planned inpatients and ward cooperation], and [Support for understanding the medical condition]. The goodness of fit of the model was as follows: GFI = .845, AGFI = .812, CFI = .904, and RMSEA = .073. The convergent validity was .741 (p < .001), divergent validity was -.471 (p < .001). Cronbach’s α for the overall scale was .945, and the corresponding values for the subscales ranged from .771 to .915.
Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the validity and reliability of the scale were within the permissible range. The scale can be used as a quality indicator in transitional care practices by outpatient department nurses and to evaluate the effectiveness of educational training.
