CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A NURSING PROGRESS NOTES CHECKLIST FOR PEDIATRICS IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS
Nursing records. Pediatric nursing. Nursing process. Emergency medical services.
Introduction: in emergency and urgent care units, the care provided presents particularities due to the imminent risk to life, especially in pediatrics, which is a population with specific needs. The nurse performs a central role in care, acting as managers of the care process and making decisions. The use of validated instruments to support the decision-making process is crucial for effective and safe care. Objective: To construct and validate a nursing progress checklist for pediatric patients hospitalized and/or under observation in an emergency care unit. Method: This is a methodological study with a quantitative approach, using Pasquali's methodological framework. The study was developed in three stages: 1) Theoretical procedure, through a scoping review to map the scientific literature on nursing progress instruments that have been used in pediatric patients in emergency and urgent care services and the construction of the checklist content; 2) Empirical procedures, with theoretical analysis of the items and content validation by the judges; 3) Analytical procedures, through statistical analysis of the data using the Content Validity Coefficient and kappa coefficient. The research participants are experts in the area of pediatrics, pediatric urgency and emergency, and methodological research. The research was conducted after approval by the Research Ethics Committee of the Onofre Lopes University Hospital of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Results: the scoping review revealed eight studies in the period 2013-2023, with a predominance of publications in Brazil (71.4%). Regarding the categories found in the study instruments, the following stand out: patient identification; anamnesis and physical examination; chief complaint; records of incidents; risk classification in pediatrics; assessment of vital signs. The construction of the checklist integrated the synthesis of the review, and the validation process showed a CVI ≥ 0.80 and a kappa coeficiente presented a value of 1.00 in all domains, indicating perfect agrément. Conclusion: the study allowed the construction and validation of a nursing progress checklist for the pediatric population, which can be used in emergency services.