@article{1015fe0849924b59839d8bbb6242742e,
title = "Revision and Psychometric Properties of the Caring Assessment Tool",
abstract = "Evaluation of the Caring Assessment Tool (CAT) is essential for its use in the monitoring and ongoing improvement of patient-nurse relationships. This descriptive, prospective study evaluated the dimensionality and internal reliability of the instrument in a sample of hospitalized adults. In addition, reduction of items was achieved, lessening clinical and administrative burden. Data were collected from 1,111 patients in 12 U.S. hospitals in 4 geographically distinct regions. A single factor explained 73% of the variance in the construct and the number of items was reduced to 27. Internal consistency remained high (a =.97). Patient-nurse relationship data were collected safely and efficiently from hospitalized patients using a paper-and-pencil approach. The CAT holds promise for providing acute care registered nurses with the information they need to deliver reliable patient-centered care.",
keywords = "acute care setting, medical surgical, nursing actions",
author = "Duffy, {Joanne R.} and Brewer, {Barbara B.} and Weaver, {Michael T.}",
note = "Funding Information: Caring patient–clinician relationships are key to the reliable delivery of PCC ( Kizer, 2002 ). Given the link to better patient outcomes, measuring these relationships provides important quality information that can inform professional practice. For example, regularly providing RNs with patient feedback that represents the deepest meaning of their work (caring relationships) may better connect them to their practice, advancing learning and stimulating practice changes. Furthermore, measuring the relationship from the patient{\textquoteright}s perspective allows engagement of the patient in evaluation of their own health care, and in itself is patient centered. Nurses working in acute-care hospitals are in a good position to measure and act on patients{\textquoteright} perspectives of relationship quality. Our findings present a theoretically based instrument, low in burden and high in reliability to meet this need. We found evidence to support a single dimension, while reducing items and maintaining internal consistency reliability in a large sample of hospitalized adults. In addition, the CAT was safely and efficiently measured during the hospitalization process. This study confirmed the psychometric properties of the CAT for use with hospitalized adults. The instrument can be used by researchers to describe, compare, or evaluate PCC environments and patient–nurse relationships. The reduction in items allows for easier use and analysis in clinical settings, thus increasing the number of readily available quality improvement tools. For example, nursing administrators could easily add the CAT to their profile of quality improvement indicators including annual nursing surveys such as the National Database on Nursing Quality Indicators ( American Nurses Association, 2009b ). Educators can use the CAT to evaluate nursing students and staff nurses{\textquoteright} relationship competency. Additional research is needed on the performance of the CAT in other populations, with multidisciplinary groups, and on ways to improve patient–nurse relationships during the hospital experience. To be most informative, studies should attempt to measure PCC and its consequences for both nurses and patients in multilevel contexts (hospitals and nursing units). Intervention research is needed at the departmental level to better understand whether PCC delivery produces measureable improvements in patient and nurse outcomes. Using the CAT in the hospital setting to indicate patient-centered care delivery could generate clinical knowledge needed for ongoing practice changes and performance improvement. This study was supported by the following 12 hospitals: John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital, Phoenix, AZ; Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale Healthcare both of Scottsdale, AZ; Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Wake Forest, NC; Baptist Downtown, Baptist Nassau, Baptist South, and Baptist Beaches all part of Baptist Health System of Jacksonville, FL; Roper St. Francis Hospital, Charleston, SC; St. Mary{\textquoteright}s Hospital and Memorial Regional Hospital both of Richmond, VA; and St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Boise, ID. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article. ",
year = "2014",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1177/1054773810369827",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "23",
pages = "80--93",
journal = "Clinical Nursing Research",
issn = "1054-7738",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
number = "1",
}