After new support surface terms and definitions were developed and agreed on by the Support Surface Standards Initiative, a NPUAP Task Force, this study was design to apply a simple validation process for the first draft of support surface terms and definitions.

Methodology:

A number of discrete steps were developed to ensure validity of the terms and definitions. First internal validation was successfully conducted and then a survey tool was constructed. This was a simple questionnaire accompanied by instructions for completion along with a pre-paid postage envelope.

The sampling frame, or population, was considered any person who regularly comes in contact with support surfaces. Given that there are very different groups within this population, the sample was stratified to ensure that representatives from all groups were captured.

Data will be entered into the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and subjected to simple descriptive analysis, and where appropriate, measurements of agreement (Cohen's Kappa Correlation).

Results:

Upon completion of the process, the findings will be used to determine if there are any particular difficulties with specific nomenclature, less agreement within or between specific groups, and identification of key areas where educational activities should be focused. These processes will also provide guidance to the S3I Group regarding the content validity of the current terms and definitions.

Conclusion:

The results of the findings will be reported during the oral presentation.