Development and Validation of a Standardized Intrahospital Patient Transfer Checklist for Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Methodological Study.

BACKGROUND: Intrahospital transport of critically ill patients is high risk. This study aimed to develop and validate a standardized transport checklist for intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A four-phase methodological design was used: Phase I (item pooling), phase II (modified Delphi validation with 17 experts), phase III (reliability testing via 40 observed transfers), and phase IV (usability testing with 10 nurses). RESULTS: The final 42-item checklist covered pre-, intra-, and post-transport phases. Content validity [Scale Content Validity Index/Universal Agreement (S-CVI)/UA] reached 1.0. Inter-rater reliability showed substantial agreement (Cohen's κ = 0.75). All nurses reported positive perceptions regarding the clarity and usability of the checklist among ICU nurses. CONCLUSION: The checklist is a valid, reliable, and feasible tool with high perceived usability among ICU nurses.