Date of Award
4-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Selected Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Nursing
Department
Nursing
School
School of Nursing and Health Sciences
Abstract
Background:
The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics estimates that as of 2020, 3.8% of American adults have abused opioids in their lifetime (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). In addition, around 7% of women self-reported that they were using opioid pain relievers during their pregnancy, and 1 in 5 of these women reported misusing these medications while pregnant (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a; Ko, 2020). Women who use opioids throughout their pregnancy give birth to infants who are born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. The symptoms can be marked by a signature high-pitched cry and inconsolability, making it extremely challenging to manage care for an infant with this syndrome.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to validate The Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Exploring Neonatal Nurses' Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practice Tool, which is referred to in this research as the “Cong Tool.” This tool uses psychometrics to measure how different nurses’ attitudes, knowledge, and practice affect the care of infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
Methods:
An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the Cong Tool to confirm reliability and validity in both neonatal nurses and nursery nurses across the nation. The data were collected by using Qualtrics, in which participants responded to the Cong Tool. The sample included 162 nurses who self-identified as nurses working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or the Nursery (including those who work in Labor and Delivery, Nursery, Maternal Child, or Postpartum areas).
Results:
In a national sample, the tool proved to be valid both in the NICU nurse population and the Nursery nurse population in measuring nurses’ attitudes, knowledge, and practice in caring for infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. There were some differences between the responses of NICU nurses and Nursery nurses, especially on the measurement of nurses’ attitudes. The survey instrument used in this study was found to be psychometrically valid.
Related Pillar(s)
Study
Recommended Citation
Ventrello, Megan A., "A Psychometric Validation of the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Exploring Neonatal Nurses' Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practice Tool" (2025). Theses & Dissertations. 231.
https://digitalcommons.molloy.edu/etd/231
