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Self-confidence for the initial management of health issues in schools: construction and validation of a visual analogue scale

Autoconfianza para gestionar complicaciones sanitarias en la escuela: construcción y validación de escala visual analógica

Abstract

Objective:

To describe the construction and validation of a visual analogue scale of teachers' self-confidence with regard to the initial management of health issues in schools.

Method:

A methodological study was developed based on theoretical (items' construction and content validation), empirical (semantic analysis and pilot test), and analytical procedures (internal consistency analysis). The project was approved by a research ethics committee.

Results:

The scale consisted of 12 items regarding the main health issues in schools, presented content validity index of 100% in the second round, was understood by the target audience, and presented high internal consistency among items (Cronbach's alpha of 0.89).

Conclusion and implications for practice:

An easy-to-use tool that proved to be relevant to meet the dimension of teachers' self-confidence in the initial management of health issues in schools. The scale may contribute to the planning of systematized and effective educational strategies among teachers.

Keywords:
School Health; Nursing; First Aid; Validation Studies; Visual Analog Scale

Resumen

Objetivo:

Describir la construcción y validación de la escala visual analógica de autoconfianza de profesores respecto a la gestión inicial de problemas de salud en la escuela.

Método:

Estudio metodológico desarrollado a partir del procedimiento teórico (construcción de ítems y validación del contenido), empírico (análisis semántico y prueba piloto) y analítico (análisis de consistencia interna). Proyecto aprobado por Comité de Ética en Investigación.

Resultados:

Escala integrada por 12 ítems referentes a las principales complicaciones de salud en la escuela, índice de validación de contenido de 100% en segunda rueda, comprensible por público objetivo y con alta consistencia interna entre los ítems (α de Cronbach 0.89).

Conclusióne implicancias para la práctica:

Herramienta de fácil uso, adecuada para atender la dimensión de autoconfianza de docentes en gestión inicial de complicaciones sanitarias en la escuela. Puede contribuir al planeamiento de estrategias educativas sistematizadas y efectivas entre los docentes.

Palabras clave:
Salud Escolar; Enfermería; Primeros Auxilios; Estudios de Validación; Escala Visual Analógica

Resumo

Objetivo:

Descrever a construção e validação da escala visual analógica de autoconfiança dos professores com relação ao manejo inicial das intercorrências de saúde na escola.

Método:

Estudo metodológico desenvolvido a partir do procedimento teórico (construção dos itens e validação do conteúdo), empírico (análise semântica e teste piloto) e analítico (análise da consistência interna). Projeto aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa.

Resultados:

Escala constituída por 12 itens referentes as principais intercorrências de saúde na escola, índice de validação de conteúdo de 100% na segunda rodada, compreensível pelo público-alvo e com alta consistência interna entre os itens (α de Cronbach 0.89).

Conclusão e implicações para a prática:

Ferramenta de fácil utilização que mostrou-se pertinente para atender a dimensão da autoconfiança dos professores no manejo inicial das intercorrências de saúde na escola. A escala pode contribuir no planejamento de estratégias educativas sistematizadas e efetivas entre os professores.

Palavras-chave:
Saúde Escolar; Enfermagem; Primeiros Socorros; Estudos de validação; Escala Visual Analógica

INTRODUCTION

Health issues , whether due to illnesses or accidents, are common in the school environment because of children's length of stay at schools and engagement in recreational activities.11 Galindo Neto NM, Caetano JA, Barros LM, Silva TM, Vasconcelos EMR. First aid in schools: construction and validation of an educational booklet for teachers. Acta Paul Enferm [Internet]. 2017; [cited 2017 Oct 15]; 30(1):87-93. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ape/v30n1/1982-0194-ape-30-01-0087.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0194201700013
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ape/v30n1/1982-...

2 Calandrim LF, Santos AB, Oliveira LR, Massaro LG, Vedovato CA, Boaventura AP. First aid at school: teacher and staff training. Rev Rene [Internet]. 2017 May/Jun; [cited 2017 Oct 10]; 18(3):292-9. Available from: http://periodicos.ufc.br/rene/article/viewFile/20044/30695. http://dx.doi.org/10.15253/2175-6783.2017000300002
http://periodicos.ufc.br/rene/article/vi...
-33 Masih S, Sharma RK, Kumar A. Knowledge and practice of primary school teachers about first aid management of selected minor injuries among children. Int J Med Public Health [Internet]. 2014; [cited 2017 May 15]; 4(4):458-62. Available from: http://ijmedph.org/sites/default/files/IntJMedPublicHealth_2014_4_4_458_144114.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/2230-8598.144114
http://ijmedph.org/sites/default/files/I...
At schools, children are exposed to falls, injuries, bruises, drowning, and burns, in addition to presenting clinical conditions due to illnesses of the childhood itself, such as fever, convulsions, and syncopes.44 Li F, Sheng X, Zhang J, Jiang F, Shen X. Effects of pediatric first aid training on preschool teachers: a longitudinal cohort study in China. BMC Pediatr [Internet]. 2014 Aug; [cited 2017 May 24]; 14:2009. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25152013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2431-14-209
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2515...
In this respect, schools represent a space of significant contribution to the implementation of accident prevention actions, as well as first aid assistance.44 Li F, Sheng X, Zhang J, Jiang F, Shen X. Effects of pediatric first aid training on preschool teachers: a longitudinal cohort study in China. BMC Pediatr [Internet]. 2014 Aug; [cited 2017 May 24]; 14:2009. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25152013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2431-14-209
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2515...

5 Rodrigues KL, Antão JYFL, Sobreira GLS, Brito RN, Freitas GLS, Serafim SC, et al. Teacher's Knowledge about First Aid in the School Environment: Strategies to Develop Skills. Int Arch Med [Internet]. 2015; [cited 2017 May 23]; 8(209):1-9. Available from: https://imed.pub/ojs/index.php/iam/article/view/1295/1038. http://dx.doi.org/10.3823/1808
https://imed.pub/ojs/index.php/iam/artic...

6 Monteiro PHN, Bizzo N. A saúde na escola: análise dos documentos de referência nos quarenta anos de obrigatoriedade dos programas de saúde, 1971-2011. Hist Ciênc Saúde [Internet]. 2015 Apr/Jun; [cited 2017 Abr 20]; 22(2):411-27. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/hcsm/v22n2/0104-5970-hcsm-2014005000028.pdf
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/hcsm/v22n2/0104...

7 Oliveira IS, Souza IP, Marques SM, Cruz AF. Knowledge of edutors on prevention of accidents in childhood. J Nurs UFPE On Line [Internet]. 2014; [cited 2017 Jul 3]; 8(2):279-85. Available from: https://periodicos.ufpe.br/revistas/revistaenfermagem/article/view/9672
https://periodicos.ufpe.br/revistas/revi...
-88 Carvalho LS, Alarcão ALC, Barroso PD, Meireles GOAB. Abordagem de Primeiros Socorros Realizada Pelos Professores em uma Unidade de Ensino Estadual em Anápolis - GO. Ensaios Cienc Biol Agrar Saúde [Internet]. 2014; [cited 2017 Mar 23]; 18(1):25-30. Available from: http://www.pgsskroton.com.br/seer/index.php/ensaioeciencia/article/view/407/2899
http://www.pgsskroton.com.br/seer/index....

First aid is understood as the first actions carried out by individuals who may be healthcare professionals or not, with the purpose of providing help someone in pain or at risk of death.99 Singletary EM, Charlton NP, Epstein JL, Ferguson JD, Jensen JL, MacPherson AI, et al. First Aid: 2015 American Heart Association and American Red Cross Guidelines Update for First Aid. Circulation [Internet]. 2015 Nov; [cited 2017 Jun 22]; 132(18 Suppl 2):S574-89. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26473003. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000269
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2647...
It is the management of any injury or illness before the availability of qualified healthcare professionals, with the aim of preventing worsening, ensuring recovery, minimizing complications, and preserving and saving lives.33 Masih S, Sharma RK, Kumar A. Knowledge and practice of primary school teachers about first aid management of selected minor injuries among children. Int J Med Public Health [Internet]. 2014; [cited 2017 May 15]; 4(4):458-62. Available from: http://ijmedph.org/sites/default/files/IntJMedPublicHealth_2014_4_4_458_144114.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/2230-8598.144114
http://ijmedph.org/sites/default/files/I...
,1010 Semwal J, Bakshi RK, Juyal R, Vyas S, Kandpal SD. Study of knowledge and attitudes to first aid among school children of Doiwalablock, Dehradun. Int J Community Med Public Health [Internet]. 2017 Aug; [cited 2017 Oct 10]; 4(8):2934-8. Available from: http://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/article/view/1213. http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20173348
http://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/a...
Therefore, the present study adopted the terms "first aid" and "initial management of health issues" as synonyms.

In the national and international school context, the initial management of health issues is often carried out by teachers.1111 Galindo Neto NM, Pereira JC, Muniz ML, Mallmann DG, Souza NMG, Neri MFS, et al. Health Education Intervention on First Aid in School: Integrative Review. Int Arch Med [Internet]. 2016 Jul; [cited 2017 Oct 15]; 9(144):1-7. Available from: https://imed.pub/ojs/index.php/iam/article/view/1733. http://dx.doi.org/10.3823/2015
https://imed.pub/ojs/index.php/iam/artic...

12 Joseph N, Narayanan T, bin Zakaria S, Nair AV, Belayutham L, Subramanian AM, et al. Awareness, attitudes and practices of first aid among school teachers in Mangalore, south India. J Prim Health Care [Internet]. 2015; [cited 2017 Jun 24]; 7(4):274-81. Available from: http://www.publish.csiro.au/hc/HC15274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/HC15274
http://www.publish.csiro.au/hc/HC15274...
-1313 Adrien N, Onesphore H. Evaluation of first aid knowledge among elementary school teacher in Burundi. Int J Sports Sci Fitness [Internet]. 2015; [cited 2017 Nov 14]; 5(2):304. Available from: https://www.ijssf.org/PDF/v05issue02abs13.pdf
https://www.ijssf.org/PDF/v05issue02abs1...
However, there are gaps regarding their training in the face of health issues.11 Galindo Neto NM, Caetano JA, Barros LM, Silva TM, Vasconcelos EMR. First aid in schools: construction and validation of an educational booklet for teachers. Acta Paul Enferm [Internet]. 2017; [cited 2017 Oct 15]; 30(1):87-93. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ape/v30n1/1982-0194-ape-30-01-0087.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0194201700013
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ape/v30n1/1982-...
,22 Calandrim LF, Santos AB, Oliveira LR, Massaro LG, Vedovato CA, Boaventura AP. First aid at school: teacher and staff training. Rev Rene [Internet]. 2017 May/Jun; [cited 2017 Oct 10]; 18(3):292-9. Available from: http://periodicos.ufc.br/rene/article/viewFile/20044/30695. http://dx.doi.org/10.15253/2175-6783.2017000300002
http://periodicos.ufc.br/rene/article/vi...
The international literature corroborates this fact when identifying low knowledge levels with regard to first aid in its results.1212 Joseph N, Narayanan T, bin Zakaria S, Nair AV, Belayutham L, Subramanian AM, et al. Awareness, attitudes and practices of first aid among school teachers in Mangalore, south India. J Prim Health Care [Internet]. 2015; [cited 2017 Jun 24]; 7(4):274-81. Available from: http://www.publish.csiro.au/hc/HC15274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/HC15274
http://www.publish.csiro.au/hc/HC15274...
,1313 Adrien N, Onesphore H. Evaluation of first aid knowledge among elementary school teacher in Burundi. Int J Sports Sci Fitness [Internet]. 2015; [cited 2017 Nov 14]; 5(2):304. Available from: https://www.ijssf.org/PDF/v05issue02abs13.pdf
https://www.ijssf.org/PDF/v05issue02abs1...
In this perspective, several feelings may be maximized by the lack of knowledge, such as insecurity, fear, and nervousness.55 Rodrigues KL, Antão JYFL, Sobreira GLS, Brito RN, Freitas GLS, Serafim SC, et al. Teacher's Knowledge about First Aid in the School Environment: Strategies to Develop Skills. Int Arch Med [Internet]. 2015; [cited 2017 May 23]; 8(209):1-9. Available from: https://imed.pub/ojs/index.php/iam/article/view/1295/1038. http://dx.doi.org/10.3823/1808
https://imed.pub/ojs/index.php/iam/artic...
According to one recent study carried out in Korea, these feelings undermine teachers' self-confidence.1414 Hwang JY, Oh ES, Cho KJ. A study on the self-confidence in performance and education demand of first aid in kindergarten and daycare center teachers. J Korea Acad Industr Cooperat Soc [Internet]. 2016; [cited 2017 Nov 23]; 17(1):234-43. Available from: http://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/ArticleFullRecord.jsp?cn=SHGSCZ_2016_v17n1_234. http://dx.doi.org/10.5762/KAIS.2016.17.1.234
http://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/Ar...

Self-confidence is understood as individuals' perspective of feeling secure and expressing conviction with regard to their own skills.1515 Perry PConcept analysis: confidence/self-confidenceNurs Forum [Internet]. 2011 Oct/Dec; [cited 2017 Oct 24]; 46(4)21830. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-6198.2011.00230.x/full. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6198.2011.00230.x
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.11...
Self-confidence combined with previous experiences and knowledge contributes to successful actions.1616 Mazzo A, Martins AJC, Jorge BM, Batista RCN, Almeida RGS, Henriques FMS, et al. Validação de escala de autoconfiança para assistência de enfermagem na retenção urinária. Rev Lat Am Enferm [Internet]. 2015 Sep/Oct; [cited 2017 Jun 23]; 23(5):814-20. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v23n5/pt_0104-1169-rlae-23-05-00814.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.0256.2619
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v23n5/pt_0...
Self-confidence is a key element for an appropriate performance in the face of urgency and emergency situations, and a variable that may be influenced by negative feelings resulting from emergency situations.1717 Martins JCA, Baptista RCN, Coutinho VRD, Mazzo A, Rodrigues MA, Mendes IAC. Autoconfiança para intervenção em emergências: adaptação e validação cultural da Self-confidence Scale em estudantes de Enfermagem. Rev Lat Am Enferm [Internet]. 2014; [cited 2017 Jun 22]. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/2014nahead/pt_0104-1169-rlae-0104-1169-3128-2451.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.3128.2451
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/2014nahead...

Instruments have been developed to measure the self-confidence of healthcare professionals and students in several clinical contexts.1616 Mazzo A, Martins AJC, Jorge BM, Batista RCN, Almeida RGS, Henriques FMS, et al. Validação de escala de autoconfiança para assistência de enfermagem na retenção urinária. Rev Lat Am Enferm [Internet]. 2015 Sep/Oct; [cited 2017 Jun 23]; 23(5):814-20. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v23n5/pt_0104-1169-rlae-23-05-00814.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.0256.2619
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v23n5/pt_0...
,1717 Martins JCA, Baptista RCN, Coutinho VRD, Mazzo A, Rodrigues MA, Mendes IAC. Autoconfiança para intervenção em emergências: adaptação e validação cultural da Self-confidence Scale em estudantes de Enfermagem. Rev Lat Am Enferm [Internet]. 2014; [cited 2017 Jun 22]. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/2014nahead/pt_0104-1169-rlae-0104-1169-3128-2451.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.3128.2451
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/2014nahead...
However, there is no specific instrument that measures teachers' self-confidence in the face of health issues. In this respect, the development of a scale with the potential to measure teachers' self-confidence for the initial management of health issues in schools is justified, thus strengthening the planning of effective educational interventions among teachers. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe the construction and validation of a visual analogue scale of teachers' self-confidence with regard to the initial management of health issues in schools.

METHOD

This is a methodological study, which enables the development of reliable instruments or research methods to be used in new studies or clinical practice.1818 Polit DF, Beck CT. Fundamentos da Pesquisa Clínica em Enfermagem: Avaliação da evidência para a prática de enfermagem. 7ª ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed; 2011. The instrument's development was based on Pasquali's assumptions.1919 Pasquali L. Instrumentos psicológicos: manual prático de elaboração. 1ª ed. Brasília: LabPAM/IBAPP; 1999. According to the author, three procedures must be followed for the construction and validation of an instrument, namely: theoretical procedure, empirical procedure, and analytical procedure.

The theoretical procedure corresponds to the explanation of theoretical reasons that guided the construction of the instrument's items. In the present study, the items' construction was based on analysis of the national and international literature and discussions carried out among members of a research group from a public university of a city in the state of São Paulo directed to child health, with care and research experience in the area. The search in the literature aimed at deepening the understanding of the self-confidence construct, as well as recognizing the main health issues that occur in the school environment. Next, the first version of the scale with eight items was developed, and it was defined that the instrument would measure the self-confidence level of preschool and elementary school teachers to provide students with first aid.

The use of a visual analogue scale (VAS) was justified because of its easy and fast application, in addition to favoring the variability of responses and use of different statistical analyses.2020 Voutilainen A, Pitkäaho T, Kvist T, Vehviläinen-Julkunen K. How to ask about patient satisfaction? The visual analogue scale is less vulnerable to confounding factors and ceiling effect than a symmetric Likert scale. J Adv Nurs [Internet]. 2016 Apr; [cited 2017 Oct 22]; 72(4):946-57. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jan.12875/abstract. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jan.12875
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.11...
Therefore, the VAS developed has a horizontal line of 10 centimeters with the following descriptors at the edges: "zero confident" to the left and "totally confident" to the right. In order to establish the score, respondents must indicate their confidence level along the line. The interpretation of the results is made based on the measurement of the space between the left end and the point indicated by the respondent, with the use of a centimeter ruler. The scale allows to measure the self-confidence level for each item, in addition to measuring the overall mean of self-confidence.

Based on the first version of the scale, the content validation process was initiated by twelve experts in the subject. The eligibility criteria for the choice of professionals were: experts in the pediatric nursing area or first aid, with academic or care experience for at least one year. It is worth mentioning that the experts were recruited by means of the snowball sampling technique, that is, the initially selected experts suggested potential participants.2121 Biernacki P, Waldorf D. Snowball sampling: problems and techniques of chain referral sampling. Sociol Methods Res [Internet]. 1981 Nov; [cited 2018 Jun 10]; 10(2):141-63. Available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/004912418101000205
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
The exclusion criterion was professionals who did not respond to the form for evaluation of the scale's items during the time determined.

Content validation considered the following four aspects: organization, clarity, comprehensiveness, and relevance of the items. The experts were told to analyze each item by means of a Likert scale with the following choices: I totally agree; I disagree; I do not know; I agree; and I totally agree. There was a space reserved for comments and suggestions. For analysis, suggestions were considered and the content validity index (CVI) per item in each aspect analyzed (organization, clarity, comprehensiveness, and relevance) and regarding the total scale were calculated.2222 Rubio DM, Berg-Weger M, Tebb SS, Lee ES, Rauch S. Objectifying content validity: Conducting a content validity study in social work research. Soc Work Res [Internet]. 2003 Jun; [cited 2017 Jun 25]; 27(2):94-105. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/swr/article-abstract/27/2/94/1659075. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/27.2.94
https://academic.oup.com/swr/article-abs...
For CVI analysis per item, the choices "I agree" and "I totally agree" were added and divided by the total number of experts. The CVI mean of each item was used for CVI calculation of the total scale. A CVI equal to or higher than 0.80, both per item and total, was considered for content validation.2222 Rubio DM, Berg-Weger M, Tebb SS, Lee ES, Rauch S. Objectifying content validity: Conducting a content validity study in social work research. Soc Work Res [Internet]. 2003 Jun; [cited 2017 Jun 25]; 27(2):94-105. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/swr/article-abstract/27/2/94/1659075. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/27.2.94
https://academic.oup.com/swr/article-abs...

The empirical procedure was then initiated with the purpose of evaluating the instrument's psychometric properties. This procedure consisted of semantic analysis stages and a pilot test. The eligibility criteria established for both stages were teachers who worked at public preschools and elementary schools of a city in the state of São Paulo, over 18 years of age, and with at least three months of professional experience. Exclusion criteria were: Teachers who were on vacation or leave at the time of the study. It is worth mentioning that, in spite of the same eligibility criteria, the participants in the semantic analysis and pilot test were not the same, totaling 25 and 36 teachers, respectively.

The semantic analysis sought to verify if all items of the scale were understandable. The teachers responded to the scale and evaluated each item with regard to clarity in writing, understanding of terms, and guidance on the filling in based on a Likert scale with the following possibilities of responses: I understood; It is clear; I had doubts; It is not clear and I did not understand; and It is confusing. There was space for suggestions.

The analytical procedure was carried out based on responses from the pilot test. Therefore, aiming at analysis and statistical validation of the scale's internal consistency, the responses of the 36 teachers were entered and stored in a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet. Later, by means of the Statistical Analysis System for Windows 9.2 software, these data were analyzed and correlated for determination of the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Based on the assumption that the highest the correlations among the items, the greatest the homogeneity of the items and consistency in which the same dimension or theoretical construct are measured, an alpha equal to or higher than 0.70 was considered satisfactory.2323 Tavakol M, Dennick R. Making sense of Cronbach's alpha. Int J Med Educ [Internet]. 2011; [cited 2016 Aug 27]; 2:53-5. Available from: https://www.ijme.net/archive/2/cronbachs-alpha.pdf
https://www.ijme.net/archive/2/cronbachs...

Due to the involvement of human subjects in the research, the present study followed the ethical aspects of Resolution 466/12 of the National Research Ethics Committee of the Brazilian National Health Council. The project was submitted to and approved by a research ethics committee under protocol no. CAEE 62949716.7.0000.5504 on February 24, 2017.

RESULTS

After review of the national and international literature and discussions among members of the research group, the first version of the scale with eight items was developed. The items referred to teachers' confidence in evaluating and ensuring safety of the place where health issues occur, evaluating and recognizing the need for help, and evaluating and providing first aid in the following health issues: fever, choking, convulsive crisis, fall, deep injury and bleeding, and cardiac arrest.

Among the 12 experts who participated in the content validation process, 33.3% had a doctorate degree, with a mean professional experience of 9.5 years. The scale's total CVI was 0.86. However, the CVI for the clarity criterion was lower than the limit established in five items, as presented in Table 1.

Table 1
Content validity index (CVI) of the visual analogue scale of teachers’ self-confidence for the management of health issues in schools per item and total. São Carlos, São Paulo, 2017

The following suggestions to improve items' clarity stood out: replacing the term "clinical or traumatic issue" for "health issues, whether due to an illness or accident"; replacing the term "deep injury" for "injury that is bleeding too much"; replacing the term "convulsive crisis" for "convulsion"; replacing the term "child found unconscious" for "unconscious child"; and adding the specification "call 192 for emergency medical services (SAMU, as per its acronym in Portuguese)". Another important suggestion refers to the dissociation of the items that analyze self-confidence of two different actions simultaneously, that is, teachers may have self-confidence to evaluate a specific situation; however, they may not feel self-confident to provide first aid in the same situation.

Based on the suggestions, a new version of the scale with 12 items was proposed, including the same themes previously described. This new version was submitted to a second content evaluation round by the same experts, resulting in total CVI of the scale and items equal to 1.00.

With the validation of the new version, 25 preschool and elementary school teachers were invited to participate in the semantic analysis stage. They were all women with a mean professional experience of 16 years. With regard to the items' understanding, 22 (88%) teachers reported that all items of the scale were clear, three (12%) teachers reported lack of clarity in items 1 and 9; however, they did not present a writing suggestion. No item was considered "confusing". Therefore, the scale's items were considered understandable in general.

The pilot test was initiated after ensuring clarity of the items. Thirty-six preschool and elementary school teachers participated in this stage, being 94% women, with a mean age of 38.3 years and professional experience of 12.3 years. Regarding education level, most teachers had a specialization degree (38.9%). With regard to previous experience with health issues, 77.8% reported having already experienced them. Table 2 presents the mean scores of self-confidence per item among the teachers (n=36).

Table 2
Mean scores of self-confidence for the management of health issues in schools among preschool and elementary school teachers. São Carlos, São Paulo, 2017

The Cronbach's alpha value of the self-confidence scale was 0.89, showing high internal consistency (>0.70) for the scale. Table 3 presents a correlation of the items and Cronbach's alpha value.

Table 3
Correlation and Cronbach’s alpha value per item of the visual analogue scale of teachers’ self-confidence for the management of health issues in schools. São Carlos, São Paulo, 2017

DISCUSSION

The final version of the self-confidence scale was made up of 12 items, which refer to the main health issues occurred in the school environment, corroborating the literature. In this respect, fever stands out among the clinical issues included in the VAS - teachers' self-confidence for the management of health issues in schools. Fever is a common childhood event, responsible for 19% to 30% of the medical care provided in pediatric emergency units.2424 Gomide ACM, Silva RM, Capanema FD, Gonçalves LAO, Rocha RL. Como os pais lidam com a febre infantil: influência das crenças, conhecimento e fontes informação no cuidado e manejo da febre na criança - revisão sistemática da literatura. Rev Med Minas Gerais [Internet]. 2014; [cited 2017 Nov 12]; 24(2):175-80. Available from: http://rmmg.org/artigo/detalhes/1598. http://dx.doi.org/10.5935/2238-3182.20140050
http://rmmg.org/artigo/detalhes/1598...
Fever, when not controlled, becomes a potential risk for complications, such as convulsions or brain damage.2525 Pereira GL, Tavares NUL, Mengue SS, Dal Pizzol TD. Therapeutic procedures and use of alternating antipyretic drugs for fever management in children. J Pediatr [Internet]. 2013 Jan/Feb; [cited 2017 Oct 22]; 89(1):25-32. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021755713000065?via%3Dihub. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jped.2013.02.005
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/art...
,2626 Preux PM, Ratsimbazafy V, Jost J. Epidemiology of febrile seizures and epilepsy: a call for action. J Pediatr [Internet]. 2015 Nov/Dec; [cited 2017 Oct 12]; 91(6):512-4. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021755715001254?via%3Dihub. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jped.2015.08.003
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In addition to febrile convulsions, epilepsy is another prevalent condition also presented in the scale.2727 Zuberi SM, Symonds JD. Update on diagnosis and management of childhood epilepsies. J Pediatr [Internet]. 2015 Nov/Dec; [cited 2017 Oct 12]; 91(Suppl 1):S67-77. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021755715001229?via%3Dihub. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jped.2015.07.003
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/art...

Regarding issues associated with accidents, the scale considers situations of fall, injuries with bleeding, and choking, which corroborate results found in other studies. One study that analyzed the profile of emergency care due to accidents and violence involving children under 10 years of age in Brazil showed that falls were frequent among the population studied.2828 Malta DC, Mascarenhas MDM, Neves ACM, Silva MA. Atendimentos por acidentes e violências na infância em serviços de emergências públicas. Cad Saúde Pública [Internet]. 2015; [cited 2017 Oct 22]; 31(5):1095-105. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0102-311X2015000500020&script=sci_abstract&tlng=pt. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00068814
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S010...
In the same direction, one study carried in the USA confirms that foreign body airway obstruction/choking is a common pediatric emergency, being the sixth cause of accidental death among children.2929 Hegde SV, Hui PK, Lee EY. Tracheobronchial foreign bodies in children: imaging assessment. Semin Ultrasound CT MR [Internet]. 2015 Feb; [cited 2017 Oct 23]; 36(1)8-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25639173. DOI: 10.1053/j.sult.2014.10.001
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2563...

With regard to the use of analogue scales, several studies make use of them, especially for pain evaluation.3030 Silva RL, Moreira DM, Fattah T, Conceição RS, Trombetta AP, Panata L, et al. Avaliação da dor durante o cateterismo por via transradial utilizando Escala Visual Analógica. Rev Bras Cardiol Invas [Internet]. 2015 Jul/Sep; [cited 2017 Nov 12]; 23(3):207-10. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0104184316300388?via%3Dihub. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rbci.2016.06.009
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Visual analogue scales are more sensitive to minor differences and present greater agreement among experts.3131 Baravieira PB, Brasolotto AG, Montagnoli AN, Silvério KC, Yamasaki R, Behlau M. Análise perceptivo-auditiva de vozes rugosas e soprosas: correspondência entre a escala visual analógica e a escala numérica. CoDAS [Internet]. 2016 Mar/Apr; [cited 2017 Oct 12]; 28(2):163-7. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2317-17822016000200163&lng=pt&tlng=pt. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20162015098
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=s...
One study that compared visual analogue scales with Likert scales showed that VAS are less vulnerable to misunderstandings, in addition to presenting advantages with regard to response time, that is, they are faster to respond.2020 Voutilainen A, Pitkäaho T, Kvist T, Vehviläinen-Julkunen K. How to ask about patient satisfaction? The visual analogue scale is less vulnerable to confounding factors and ceiling effect than a symmetric Likert scale. J Adv Nurs [Internet]. 2016 Apr; [cited 2017 Oct 22]; 72(4):946-57. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jan.12875/abstract. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jan.12875
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.11...

In the content validation, the experts suggested alterations in some items in order to improve clarity and increase the scale's comprehensiveness. The inclusion of these suggestions enabled 100% of agreement, indicating appropriate understanding of the instrument. Galindo et al. also achieved agreement of all experts with regard to the content relevance of the booklet "First Aid at School" and its aplicability.11 Galindo Neto NM, Caetano JA, Barros LM, Silva TM, Vasconcelos EMR. First aid in schools: construction and validation of an educational booklet for teachers. Acta Paul Enferm [Internet]. 2017; [cited 2017 Oct 15]; 30(1):87-93. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ape/v30n1/1982-0194-ape-30-01-0087.pdf. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0194201700013
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ape/v30n1/1982-...

Despite not being the objective, teachers' low self-confidence levels for the management of health issues in schools corroborated the findings of one international study.1414 Hwang JY, Oh ES, Cho KJ. A study on the self-confidence in performance and education demand of first aid in kindergarten and daycare center teachers. J Korea Acad Industr Cooperat Soc [Internet]. 2016; [cited 2017 Nov 23]; 17(1):234-43. Available from: http://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/ArticleFullRecord.jsp?cn=SHGSCZ_2016_v17n1_234. http://dx.doi.org/10.5762/KAIS.2016.17.1.234
http://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/Ar...
Therefore, further studies exploring the effect of educational interventions on first aid assistance must be carried out.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The present study presented the construction and validation process of the visual analogue scale of teachers' self-confidence for the management of health issues in schools. The scale showed content validity in the experts' opinion (CVI of 86% in the first round and 100% in the second round), was considered understandable by the target audience, and presented high internal consistency among items. Therefore, the scale proved to be reliable to meet the dimension teachers' self-confidence with regard to the initial management of health issues in schools, in addition to being easily used and understood.

Nursing professionals, as well as those who work in the management of child education, may make use of this scale, since it may contribute to the planning and organization of systematized and effective educational strategies that promote greater confidence among teachers, and, consequently, a safe management of health issues in the school environment.

The reduced number of participants for initial analyses of internal consistency and the impossibility of accessing other measurement properties to strengthen the use of this instrument are presented as limitations of this study. Further studies on the validity and reliability of the instrument must be carried out.

REFERENCES

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    13 Sept 2018
  • Date of issue
    2018

History

  • Received
    02 Apr 2018
  • Accepted
    24 July 2018
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