Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale-Parent Form (Ped-RHDS)

• Published in: Journal of pediatric nursing Vol. 77; pp. 28 - 34
• Main Authors: Bayram, Meral, Aykanat Girgin, Burcu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Adult; Assessment; Child; Child, Hospitalized; Child, Preschool; Discharge; Female; Humans; Male; Parents; Parents - psychology; Patient Discharge; Psychometrics; Readiness; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires; Translations; Turkey; Validity; Turkey; Validity; Readiness; Discharge; Assessment; Parents
• ISSN: 0882-5963; 1532-8449; 1532-8449
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pedn.2024.03.005

An objective evaluation of parents' perceived readiness for the discharge of their child from hospital may aid in the prevention of readmission and rehospitalization. This study examined the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale-Parent Form (Ped-RHDS) for children in Turkey. The parents of 160 children planned for discharge from the pediatric surgery and pediatric departments were included. Cronbach's α, exploratory factor, confirmatory factor, item-total correlation, and criterion validity analyses of the Turkish Ped-RHDS were performed. The Turkish Ped-RHDS has 26 items in 5 factors explaining 52.212% of the total scale variance. The scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.842. In exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, item factor loadings were higher than 0.30 and comparative fit and goodness of fit indices were 0.96 and 0.93, respectively. In criterion-based validity, total Ped-RHDS score weakly correlated with scores on the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale (r = −0.164; p = 0.039). Item-item total score correlations for the Turkish Ped-RHDS were between 0.329 and 0.532. The Turkish Ped-RHDS is valid and reliable as a parent-reported instrument for the assessment of hospital discharge readiness in children and parents. Healthcare professionals can use this assessment tool to measure parental and child discharge readiness before children are discharged from hospital. The Turkish Ped-RHDS should be integrated into discharge readiness assessment as standard practice in the discharge of pediatric patients. •Discharging children is a complex and multifaceted decision for healthcare professionals.•Parental perceptions of discharge readiness are an important factor affecting children's discharge process and post-discharge use of health resources.•The Turkish Ped-RHDS is a valid and reliable parent-reported instrument that can be used to assess the discharge readiness of parents and children in Turkey.•Ped-RHDS should be integrated into standard discharge practices for children.•Nurses can use the Turkish Ped-RHDS to improve discharge readiness to lower the risk of post-discharge problems and hospital readmissions.