Background. To assess a patient's cognitive functioning is an important issue because nurses tailor their nursing interventions to the patient's cognitive abilities. Although some observation scales exist concerning one or more cognitive domains, so far, no scale has been available which assesses cognitive functioning in a comprehensive way.Objectives. To develop an observation scale with an accepted level of content validity and which assesses elderly patients' cognitive functioning in a comprehensive way.Methods. Delphi technique, a multidisciplinary panel developed the scale by consensus through four Delphi rounds (>70% agreement). The International Classification of Functioning/ICF was used as theoretical framework.Results. After the first two Delphi rounds, the panel reached consensus about 8 cognitive domains and 17 sub domains. After two other rounds, 39 items were selected, divided over 8 domains and 17 sub domains.Discussion. The Nurses' Observation Scale Cognitive Abilities (NOSCA) was successfully designed. The content validity of the scale is high because the scale sufficiently represents the concept of cognitive functioning: the experts reached a consensus of 70% or higher on all domains and items included; and no domains or items were lacking. As a next step, the psychometric qualities of the NOSCA will have to be tested.
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