Adaptation and validation of an adult patient classification instrument with emphasis on the family dimension

OBJECTIVES: to adapt and validate an instrument for classifying adult patients that emphasizes the family support network in the demand for nursing care. METHODS: methodological study, carried out in three phases: adaptation of an instrument considering the reality of adult patients; content validation with seven experts and assessment of measurement properties (construct validity and internal consistency) with 781 hospitalized patients. RESULTS: in content validation, the indicators reached the values established for the Content Validity Index (0.85-1.00). In the confirmatory factor analysis, the 11 indicators were distributed in three domains and presented average variance extracted and factor loading greater than 0.5. Composite reliability was greater than 0.7. CONCLUSIONS: the present study adapted and made available, with evidence of validity and reliability, an instrument for classifying adult patients that considers the family support network in the demand for nursing care.