Abstract
Objective: To develop an evaluation scale (Discharge Support Scale for Long-term Psychiatric Patients: DSS-LPP) for healthcare and medical professionals to support long-term hospitalized psychiatric patients toward discharge, and confirm its reliability and validity.
Methods: To determine appropriate questions, a questionnaire survey was conducted using a 52-item prototype of the DSS-LPP, created based on the results of qualitative and inductive analysis of the contents of discharge support for long-term hospitalized psychiatric patients, and confirmed to have sufficient content validity in a previous study. The respondents were 485 healthcare and medical professionals who had consented to cooperate with the present study.
Results: Five factors and 33 items were extracted through exploratory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha for the DSS-LPP was .957, confirming its internal consistency. The scale was also shown to have sufficient criterion-related validity, as a significant correlation was observed on evaluation using the Discharge Planning-Process Evaluation Measurement, while its item discrimination was confirmed through comparison between those with and without successful experience related to discharge support.
Conclusion: The DSS-LPP has sufficient reliability and validity, and is usable as an evaluation scale by healthcare and medical professionals to support long-term hospitalized psychiatric patients toward discharge.
