TITLE:
Validity and Reliability of Family Beliefs Inventory Related to a Child’s Hospital Discharge
AUTHORS:
Naohiro Hohashi, Naomi Iwabuchi, Junko Honda
KEYWORDS:
Chronically Ill Child, Discharge, Family Nursing, Family Beliefs, Family Beliefs Inventory Related to a Children’s Hospital Discharge
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.15 No.10,
October
24,
2025
ABSTRACT: Background and Purpose: To ensure that hospitalized chronically ill children and their families are willing to be discharged, family nursing care based on family beliefs is important. While an accurate assessment of the types and intensity of family beliefs is necessary, a scale has yet to be developed. The purpose of this study was to develop the Family Beliefs Inventory Related to a Child’s Hospital Discharge and examine its validity and reliability. Methods: A five-point Likert-scale inventory was constructed based on 35 family beliefs identified in a previous study that influences the decision to discharge a chronically ill child. A questionnaire survey was conducted targeting families (fathers and mothers) of hospitalized children with chronic illnesses. Results: Valid responses were obtained from 185 individuals from 112 families. Following item analysis, construct validity was confirmed through exploratory factor analysis, resulting in a scale consisting of 23 items and four factors. Criterion-related validity was confirmed through correlation with the lifestyle scale. A Good-Poor analysis revealed significant differences for discriminant validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the entire scale was 0.726, confirming internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient using the test-retest method was 0.826, confirming test-retest reliability. Conclusions: The novel inventory has good psychometric properties and can be utilized in family nursing in decisions regarding discharge of chronically ill children.