• Kay H Stricker, Steffen Niemann, Sophie Bugnon, Jeannie Wurz, Ottilia Rohrer, and Hans U Rothen.
• Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland.
• J Crit Care. 2007 Sep 1;22(3):204-11.

PurposeFamily needs and expectations are often unmet in the intensive care unit (ICU), leading to dissatisfaction. This study assesses cross-cultural adaptability of an instrument evaluating family satisfaction in the ICU.Materials And MethodsA Canadian instrument on family satisfaction was adapted for German language and central European culture and then validated for feasibility, validity, internal consistency, reliability, and sensitivity.ResultsContent validity of a preliminary translated version was assessed by staff, patients, and next of kin. After adaptation, content and comprehensibility were considered good. The adapted translation was then distributed to 160 family members. The return rate was 71.8%, and 94.4% of questions in returned forms were clearly answered. In comparison with a Visual Analogue Scale, construct validity was good for overall satisfaction with care (Spearman rho = 0.60) and overall satisfaction with decision making (rho = 0.65). Cronbach alpha was .95 for satisfaction with care and .87 for decision-making. Only minor differences on repeated measurements were found for interrater and intrarater reliability. There was no floor or ceiling effect.ConclusionsA cross-cultural adaptation of a questionnaire on family satisfaction in the ICU can be feasible, valid, internally consistent, reliable, and sensitive.

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