Validation of a Total Score for the Critical Care Famuly Satisfaction Survey.

Objective: To establish the validity of a total score for the Critical Care Family Satisfaction Survey (CCFSS). Design: Instrument validation study. Setting and participants: 2494 family members of patients admitted to 10 critical care units over a 3-year period. Methods: A total score was computed by summing the 5 subscales of the survey, providing a score in the range of 5 to 25. Total score validation techniques included comparison of a model developed from the recently collected survey data with the model developed for initial validation of the survey (n = 145). Goodness-of-fit analyses included calculation and comparison of internal consistency estimates (Cronbach’s alpha) from both models using Fisher’s r-to-z transformations as well as construct validation using r-to-z transformation and comparisons of standardized regression weights from both models. A scree plot was generated to demonstrate the similarity between the model’s eigenstructures, and a chi-square goodness-of-fit analysis was performed to compare the percentage of variance explained by each model. Results: Internal consistency estimates from the 2 models were not significantly different (z score P values \u3e 0.10). Statistical differences between standardized regression weights were observed, and these were caused by the large sample size in this study. However, the patterns of differences between these weights across the 4- and 5-construct model were nearly identical. Goodness-of-fit analysis of the percentage of variance explained by each model demonstrated agreement of the underlying eigenstructure of the models (P = 0.80). Conclusion: Comparison of the models showed significant agreement and no meaningful differences, demonstrating the validity of a total score for the CCFSS. Evidence of a single latent construct being estimated from both models provides additional support for the computation of a total score