Psychometric validity of the Brazilian version of the quality of palliative care questionnaire in the intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the psychometric properties of the Quality of Palliative Care in the Intensive Care Unit questionnaire.

METHODS

A psychometric evaluation study was conducted with 103 intensive care professionals, including nurses and physicians, yielding a respondent-to-item ratio of 10.3:1. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed, followed by multigroup analysis to assess measurement invariance between professional categories (nurses and physicians).

RESULTS

The two-factor model demonstrated good overall fit. The identified domains were Skills and Competencies and Psychospiritual Aspects. Factor loadings were consistently high across both domains (>0.69). Internal consistency was excellent at both the domain and instrument levels (McDonald's omega = 0.952; Cronbach's alpha = 0.945). Comparable psychometric performance was observed in analyses conducted separately for nurses and physicians.

CONCLUSIONS

The bidimensional structure of the instrument is suitable for assessing nurses' and physicians' perceptions of palliative care in intensive care unit settings.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study provides a culturally adapted and psychometrically validated Brazilian Portuguese version of the instrument, enabling the assessment of nurses' and physicians' perceptions of palliative care delivery in intensive care units.