Content Validation of Early Intervention Protocol for Preterm Infants in Indian Population
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37506/ijphrd.v11i3.1500Keywords:
Multimodal sensory stimulation, preterm infants, hammer smith neurological assessment scale, KMC.Abstract
Background: Preterm birth is defined as babies born alive at less than 37 weeks of gestation. Due to the
lack of the in-vitro environment and their exposure to harmful environment of the NICU leads to the preterm
infants having a long term disability. The awareness of environmental factors on development gave rise to
the idea formation of various early intervention programs. The guidelines for early intervention progression
should be tailored respecting the growing needs of preterm infants. Hence, the current literature states a need
for a protocol with proper dosage in improving the motor outcomes.
Objective: The current study aimed to validate the content of early intervention protocol in Indian population.
Materials and Method: The process of content validation of early intervention protocol involved
development stage and expert judgment stage. The early intervention protocol was designed into three
stages with extensive review of literature. After designing the protocol, nine experts in field of paediatric &
neurological physiotherapy performed the judgemental process. The process of validation includes rating
of selected experts in a 5 point likert grading on two parameters namely relevance and ease of performance.
Based on expert’s inputs on early intervention protocol, the level of agreement, content validation index and
kappa value was calculated.
Results: The three staged early intervention protocol almost exhibited an excellent agreement on all stages.
Conclusion: The structured early intervention protocol exhibited excellent content validity to its use in
Indian population.
