Development and Psychometric Verification of a Self-Administered Scale for Family Needs in Japanese Critical Care Settings.

Aim: We developed and evaluated the statistical reliability and validity of a family needs scale directly answerable by families in critical care settings.

Methods: In this qualitative study, 39 questions were drafted to capture family needs. These questions were then administered to the families of patients in emergency care settings. Exploratory factor analyses identified several needs factors and factor structures of the questions with oblique rotation. A confirmatory factor analysis examined internal consistency and criterion-related and construct validity.

Results: Three factors comprising 32 items were extracted from the exploratory factor analysis: "Needs for fulfilling family roles," "Needs for appropriate treatment and care," and "Needs for respecting family ties." Cronbach's α was 0.949 for the total score and 0.927, 0.914, and 0.896 for factors A-C, respectively, with cumulative variance of 50.0%. The three factors' confirmatory factor analysis revealed a relatively good model fit. A significant correlation was found between this scale and the assessment scale for the needs of families of patients in the intensive care unit.

Conclusions: A new scale assessing family needs was developed, and its reliability and validity were confirmed. The scale has acceptable psychometric properties and can be used to measure family needs in critical care settings, particularly in Japanese cultural contexts.