The development, validity and reliability of the hospital in the home dependency scale (HDS) | Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing Home Archives Vol. 18 No. 4 (2001): June - August 2001 Research Papers Main Article Content

Nick Santamaria
Sue Daly
Rachael Addicott
Lexie Clayton

Keywords

stress, cognitive processes, personality, lifestyle, difficult patients

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop and investigate the validity and reliability of the Hospital-in-the-Home (HITH) Dependency Scale (HDS). The HDS is a new instrument designed to measure the dependency of HITH patients. It calculates an overall dependency level by rating four dimensions of the provision of HITH nursing care. Specifically, these dimensions are the complexity of assessment, complexity of treatment, time taken to provide the treatment, and the frequency of treatment. The results of testing the HDS suggest that it is valid in measuring adult medical and surgical HITH patient dependency. The scale demonstrated strong stability over time in test retest procedures over a one month period (r = 0.80, p <0.01) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.72). We conclude that the HDS is a valid, reliable instrument that is quick and easy to use in the HITH setting.

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