Validation of an Instrument to Measure Care According to Patient Dependency and Risk in Chronic Hemodialysis Therapy

Abstract

nstruments to categorize patients are useful because they make it possible to allocate professionals and material resources according to the actual profile of the patient. The purpose of this study was to adapt and validate an instrument known as "Categorizing Users According to Care Dependency and Risk" (CUDYR) in Chronic Hemodialysis (CHD). The instrument for patients in CHD was called "CUDYRDIAL" and was comprised of two subscales and fourteen items. The sample consisted of 150 patients from five dialysis units who were selected in a stratified manner, at random. The CUDYR-DIAL instrument was applied to them a total of 620 times. All the items showed significant correlations (> 0.3) with the total score on the scale, and the reliability of the scale remained stable when the items were eliminated one by one, fluctuating between 0.86 and 0.87. The overall reliability of the instrument shows a Cronbach's alpha of 0.878. Users in HDC fit four profiles in terms of dependency (partial to complete) and risk (medium to high). It was concluded the reliability of the CUDYR-DIAL instrument is good and it represents a contribution to categorizing patients according HDC dependence and risk.