Instruments to assess the patient comfort during hospitalization: a psychometric review protocol.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties, outcomes and utility of instruments measuring the patient comfort during hospitalization.

Background: While there are numerous systematic reviews assessing the psychometric properties of healthcare instruments, none of them is devoted to evaluate the psychometric properties of instruments measuring comfort, which is considered an indicator of quality in health care and is associated to quicker discharges, increased patient satisfaction and stronger cost-benefit ratios for the institution.

Design: Psychometric Systematic review.

Methods: Searches will be performed on MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, ProQuest Thesis&Dissertations and grey literature and will be focused on questionnaires measuring patient comfort as a holistic experience in any healthcare setting. The assessment will take into account the theoretical model on which the instruments are built, evaluate the psychometric properties of each study according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) and will include the assessment of the quality of instruments outcomes and their cost-efficiency, acceptability and educational impact. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO, CRD42016036290 and was supported by the Grant PSI2014-52962-P, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (July, 2015).

Discussion: The results of our psychometric review will categorise the instruments measuring the patient comfort according to their psychometric properties, methodological quality, outcomes and utility, to improve the quality of health care provided and the institution's benefits.