Regarding the main findings of this SR, they were organized according to structure, process and result (Donabedian’s triad)24. Items classified into structure are highlighted as infrastructure, inputs and human resources.
The indicators found in the studies highlighted the dialyzer processing, dialysis machine type, exclusively for nursing professionals for patients with unknown serology8,25.
From this perspective, studies emphasize that water quality control was essential in preventing risks to patients, indicating that this should be organized before the HD procedure8,25.
As for the items classified as process, hand hygiene, use of checklists to avoid infection, relationship between professional and patient and patient data collection in printed form for each session were pointed out,27,28.
It is emphasized that patient protection and safety activities must be performed by a multidisciplinary team, with aseptic techniques for infection prevention and assessment of individual patient results11,29.
Furthermore, the items highlighted as a result are related to care products, changes in health status related to this care. Studies have highlighted catheter insertion reduction by using the Fistula First program to maintain arteriovenous fistula (AVF).
The use of AVF can present complications, such as stenosis and infection, although, when compared to the central venous catheter, which has a lower mortality rate, it is therefore recommended as the first choice access in patients under HD in the Fistula First Catheter Last guideline27,30.
The graphic protocol construction aimed to contribute to the development of new interventions to promote safe HD care through identification of strengths and weaknesses in services, which occurred through the checklist production as the main part. The aforementioned made it possible to organize and structure the instrument by making it possible to visually verify the proposed tasks and consult to assist in assessing and analyzing the various graphic protocol items18.
For a safe use of the instrument in health services, the item validation process becomes necessary to reach reliability. This procedure was carried out by judges’ assessment.
It is noted that most experts in the study have more than 10 years of professional experience in the PS area.
With regard to sex, women prevailed among judges who were part of the study. The fact is consistent with the historical context of nursing and its first schools in which there was a predominance of women in the profession, although over the years men have been increasingly inserted32,33.
Regarding the field of action, it was identified that the majority works with care and teaching linked to PS and HD. A study says that the combination of these areas of activity makes professionals develop approximation and better associations between patient care and scientific research34,35.
In the content and appearance validation process, in the first Delphi round, three criteria did not have suitability values greater than or equal to 0.80. We sought to reassess the items, in order to make them understandable, as clarity was not validated in the checklist, which could cause inconsistency in understanding and consequent inappropriate use of the instrument. This criterion has higher levels of difficulty to be valid, as it varies according to the interpretation capacity of both the builder and the user36.
The second criterion not validated was accuracy, which indicates that an item may not be suitable and cause confusion, since accuracy means that each item must have a distinct and defined position15. Modality, third criterion, refers to the formulation of sentences with expression of modal reaction15.
For appearance validation, using the SAM criteria, in the Delphi I round, only the process protocol culture item was below 0.80. This criterion is characterized by the observation of the instrument content regarding its logic, language and experience, in order to verify if it is culturally suitable for the target audience.
Thus, it is observed that the graphic protocol obtained CVC values above 0.80, which highlights the significant agreement among judges and that the use of the instrument helps assessing safe care in HD.
Regarding the level of agreement of the instruments after completion of two Delphi rounds, it is clear that the material has valid content to assess safe care for patients under HD through agreement among judges.
As limitations of this validation study, the number of judges who made up this stage stands out, as in the first Delphi round it consisted of nine, and in the second round, six. Loss of judges can represent losses. Despite the limitations, this study contributes to PS and quality management of HD services.