THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN OBSERVATION RATING SCALE TO MEASURE BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT OF PREMATURE, VENTILATOR DEPENDENT INFANTS

Abstract

The purpese of this study was to develop and test an observational a~sessment Seal~ that could be used to measure the behavioral development of premature, ventilator dependent infants. The major goal of this study was to establish interrater reliability and content and criterion-related validity for this.scale. Two research questions guided the development of this instrument: 1) Can certain behaviors reflecting developmental stability of a premature. infant be observed and measured? and 2) Are certain clusters of behaviors indicative of the degree of physiological instability of premature infants? The sample consisted of 20 premature infants: Group I (n=lO) infants of 26-29 weeks of gestation and ventilator dependent, and Group II (n=lO) infants of 32-34 weeks of gestation and not ventilator dependent. These infants were observed prior to a nursing intervention and after a nursing int~rvention. Interrater reliability, content validity and criterion-related validity were obtained. The results indicated that the behaviors characteristic of premature infants of 26-29 weeks of gestation and ventilator dependent can be identified, observed and reliably measured.