NeoCheck: A New Checklist to Assess Performance during Newborn Life Support—A Validation Study
Katharina Bibl,
Felix Eibensteiner,
Valentin Ritschl,
Philipp Steinbauer,
Angelika Berger,
Monika Olischar,
Vito Giordano,
Michael Wagner
Affiliations
Katharina Bibl
Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Felix Eibensteiner
Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Valentin Ritschl
Institute of Outcomes Research, Center for Medical Data Science, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Philipp Steinbauer
Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Angelika Berger
Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Monika Olischar
Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Vito Giordano
Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Michael Wagner
Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Background: The aim of this study was to design and validate a new checklist and standardized scenario for assessing providers’ performance during Newborn Life Support (NLS). Methods: We invited twelve experts in Neonatology to take part in a three-step Delphi process. They rated the importance of each item of a newly designed assessment tool to evaluate participants’ performance during Newborn Life Support independently on a numeric rating scale from 1 to 5 (1 = lowest; 5 = highest) and were able to give additional comments. All items achieving a mean rating below four after the third round were deleted. For the reliability of the checklist, we calculated interrater reliability. Results: Using a standardized Delphi process, we revised the initial checklist according to the experts’ ratings and comments. The final assessment tool includes 38 items covering all relevant steps during NLS. The mean expert rating of all items was 4.40. Interrater reliability showed substantial agreement between the two raters in the first draft (κ = 0.80) as well as in the final draft of the checklist (κ = 0.73). Conclusion: We designed a feasible assessment tool for evaluating performance during NLS. We proved the checklist to be valid and reasonable using a Delphi validation process and calculating interrater reliability.
