Development and initial psychometric evaluation of a discharge readiness scale in patients undergoing orthotopic neobladder reconstruction after radical cystectomy.

BACKGROUND

Bladder cancer is a common malignant tumor worldwide, and its incidence and mortality rate in China rank among the highest globally. As an important treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, orthotopic neobladder reconstruction is associated with high rates of postoperative complications and readmission, which impair patients quality of life. Readiness for hospital discharge can reduce the risk of unplanned readmission. However, there is currently a lack of specialized discharge readiness assessment tools for older (aged ≥ 60 years) patients undergoing orthotopic neobladder reconstruction in China, and general scales are inadequate to meet their complex rehabilitation needs.

OBJECTIVE

To develop and validate a discharge readiness assessment scale for older (aged ≥ 60 years) patients undergoing orthotopic neobladder reconstruction.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional validation study.

SETTINGS: Data were collected from a tertiary Grade A hospital in Guangzhou.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 230 participants were included, selected by convenience sampling.

METHODS

The research was carried out in three phases: i) Design review and selection of the questionnaire items; ii) Validity Test: Content validity was verified using the Delphi methodology; Construct validity was examined via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis; iii) Reliability Test. The study design adhered to the COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments) guidelines. Convergent and discriminant validity were evaluated. Internal consistency and split-half reliability were assessed. K-means clustering and Fisher discriminant analysis were used for score grade classification.