Research Article
Issue Date: July/August 2016
Published Online: May 20, 2016
Updated: April 30, 2020
Moral Distress Scale for Occupational Therapists: Part 1. Instrument Development and Content Validity
Neil H. Penny; Samantha J. Bires; Elizabeth A. Bonn; Alisha N. Dockery; Nicole L. Pettit
Author Affiliations
  • Neil H. Penny, EdD, OTR/L, is Chair, Occupational Therapy Department, Alvernia University, Reading, PA; Neil.Penny@alvernia.edu
  • Samantha J. Bires, MSOT, OTR/L, is Clinical Occupational Therapist, Amedisys Home Health Care, Lancaster, PA
  • Elizabeth A. Bonn, MSOT, OTR/L, is Clinical Occupational Therapist, PinnacleHealth Community General Osteopathic Hospital, Harrisburg, PA
  • Alisha N. Dockery, MSOT, OTR/L, is Clinical Occupational Therapist, Theraplay, Inc., Limerick, PA
  • Nicole L. Pettit, MSOT, OTR/L, is Clinical Occupational Therapist, Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital, Lancaster, PA
Article Information
Assessment Development and Testing / Geriatrics/Productive Aging / Health and Wellness / Rehabilitation, Participation, and Disability / Vision / Research Methodology
Research Article   |   May 20, 2016
Moral Distress Scale for Occupational Therapists: Part 1. Instrument Development and Content Validity
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, May 2016, Vol. 70, 7004300020. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.018358
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, May 2016, Vol. 70, 7004300020. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.018358
Abstract

OBJECTIVE. We describe the development of an instrument to measure moral distress experienced by occupational therapists and show how its content validity was established.

METHOD. Written comments (n = 78) from a previous survey using the Moral Distress Scale–Revised–Other Health Provider Adult were used to modify that instrument and create the Moral Distress Scale–Revised–Occupational Therapy–Adult Settings (MDS–R–OT[A]). The MDS–R–OT[A] was distributed to a nationwide random sample of 400 occupational therapists who rated the relevance of each item to their clinical practice.

RESULTS. A scale content validity index of 81.8% was found (geriatric = 81.5%, physical disability = 80.8%, combination of the two = 85.7%).

CONCLUSION. The MDS–R–OT[A] possesses acceptable content validity and is appropriate for use with occupational therapists working in geriatric or physical disability settings.