Psychometric Evaluation of a Triage Decision Making Inventory

Abstract

Purpose: Triage decision making or prioritizing care is an essential operational nursing skill in all clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Triage Decision Making Inventory (TDMI) in a sample of Navy nurses and civilian nurses with diverse experience levels and clinical specialties. Design: Instrument evaluation study through administration of the inventory to a sample of nurses. Methods: The TDMI was sent electronically to 827 Navy and civilian nurses assigned to a MTF via an email invitation with link to Survey Monkey. Data collection took place in two sessions: April-June and October-November 2010. Sample: The resulting sample was 211 with 190 complete responses. Sample demographics include 77% Female, 74% White, 39% Active Duty, 19% Reserves, and 35% Civilian. Ages ranged from 23-68 years, with years of experience from less than 1 year to over 50. All military ranks were represented and educational preparations ranged from Licensed Practical Nurse to PhD. Specialty practice varied with ambulatory nursing representing 23% of sample, medical surgical nursing (19%), critical care nursing (13%), emergency nursing (13%), and maternal child nursing (11%). Analysis: SPSS (PASW 18) was used to summarize descriptive data and to perform exploratory factor analysis. Findings: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation resulted in 3 factors accounting for 53.2 % of variance: Factor 1 Cognitive Abilities (41.7%), Factor 2, Experience (7%), and Factor 3, Intuition (4.5%). Eigenvalues ranged from 1.69 to 15.5 and factor loading ranged from .501 to .802. Cronbach's alph for each factor ranged from .858- .922. The three factors supported the initial concept definition of triage decision making. Implications for Military Nursing: Future research needs to focus on testing in large diverse military samples.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 27, 2011
Accession Number
ADA630016

Entities

People

  • Anita J. Smith

Organizations

  • University of South Alabama

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Science
  • Education
  • Electronic Mail
  • Emergencies
  • Factor Analysis
  • Hospitals
  • Information Science
  • Knowledge Management
  • Military Hospitals
  • Patient Care
  • Social Sciences
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Surveys
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Training

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Medical or Health Care Field.
  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems