Objective To propose a Short Form of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Family Needs Inventory, through a cross-cultural adaptation for the Portuguese population.

Methods The NICU Family Needs Inventory is a self-report scale with 56 statements, ranging from not important to very important.¹ A standard procedure for the linguistic adaptation was used. Instrument was administered to 40 mothers and 30 fathers of infants hospitalized in 5 level III NICU in the North of Portugal, 8 to 22 days after admission (January–June 2013). Items were dichotomized as very important or not very important. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to assess the dimensionality of the scale and Cronbach’s alpha to measure internal consistency. The global goodness of fit of the scale was evaluated using the comparative fit index (CFI). The number of items needed to achieve a reliability closed to 0.8 was calculated by the Spearman-Brow formula.

Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed 2 dimensions, one focused on parents needs and other on baby needs, with a CFI of 0.97. To compose the Short Form Inventory, all the variables with a response variation ≤5% (n = 7) were eliminated and 14 items were selected in each dimension. Confirmatory analysis supported the existence of 2 dimensions, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.81 for the parents-centred needs and 0.78 for the baby-centred needs.

Conclusion The Short Form of the NICU Family Needs Inventory is a valid instrument with a high degree of reliability. Further studies are needed to explore associations with practices of family-centred care.

Reference

1. Ward K. Perceived needs of parents of critically ill infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Pediatric Nursing, 2001;27(3):281–288