Steps in the Development of a Reliable and Valid National Emergency Unit Readiness Assessment Tool for COVID-19 Outbreak in Iran

Abstract

Background/Introduction:Evaluation of the Emergency Unit resilience during COVID-19 outbreak is important. In this study, we discuss steps to develop a valid and reliable national Iranian toolkit to assess the EU resilience.Objectives:To develop a toolkit to evaluate the EU resilience during COVID-19 pandemic.Method/Description:Comprehensive literature reviews, experts panel discussion, focus group discussion, semi-structured interviews, and two-round Delphi surveys were used to develop a questionnaire. Then the items reviewed for their readability, feasibility, clarity of wording, layout, and style. A web-based form was designed to evaluate their face and content validity by a separate panel of experts. The final draft was tested on 30 voluntary EU managers two times (14 days apart). The gathered data were analyzed by SPSS software.Results/Outcomes:Descriptive statistics used to examine the floor and ceiling effects. The short answer comments were analyzed using meaning condensation developed by Svend Brinkmann & Steinar Kvale. Spearman correlation coefficients was used to examine test-retest reliability for agreement with the level of significance set at P<.05.Cronbach alpha was used to evaluate the internal consistency reliability and Cohen’s kappa scores was used to measure reliability.Finally, a 47-item questionnaire was developed and sent to the MOH to be used for evaluating EUs resilience.Conclusion:A valid and reliable national toolkit is essential to evaluate EU resilience to deliver a high-quality emergency care and all the emergency managers should be familiar with the process of developing a valid and reliable toolkit.