Table 1 Psychometric Properties of Currently Available Tools for the Assessment of Infants who are Both Breast- and Bottle-Feeding
Tool (Author) | Purpose & intended user | Target population | Items – number & constructs | Reliability | Validity | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Internal consistency | Inter-rater | Test-retest | Content | Construct | ||||
Assess oral feeding skills; Clinician-reported (Training available, but not required) | Preterm and term infants birth to 52 weeks post-menstrual age. | 19 items on revised version; Respiratory Regulation, Oral-Motor Function, Swallowing Coordination, Engagement, Physiologic Stability | + | + | NR | * | + | |
Acceptable internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α = .81) [28]. Inter-rater reliability reported as acceptable between trained clinicians. | * Item generation consistent with content validity, but not tested [27]. Construct validity with the Infant Drive Feeding Scale – Quality (r = −.18- - .73; p < .05) [28]. | |||||||
Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS) [29] | Describe disorganized and dysfunctional sucking patterns; Clinician-reported (Training Required) | Preterm infants and those with complex medical conditions. | 28 items; Jaw and tongue movement and function | + | + | +/− | NR | +/− |
Internal consistency reliability acceptable [30]. Inter-rater reliability acceptable after scoring system change (k = .78–.9) [31]. Test-retest inconsistent (k = .33–.94 and r = .23–.57) [32, 33]. | Inconsistent evidence of construct validity with related constructs across studies [32, 34, 35]. | |||||||