Abstract: Objective: To develop and evaluate the reliability and validity of a risk assessment scale for aspiration in adult inpatients, with the aim of providing an effective tool for identifying at-risk patients. Methods: A draft of the aspiration risk assessment scale was established based on literature analysis, qualitative interviews and expert correspondence results. The scale was then validated through retrospective analysis of 320 inpatients with aspiration risk in a tertiary hospital in Jinhua. Results: The scale consists of 16 items referring to 3 dimensions: basic information, disease evaluation, and treatment measures. 6 common factors were extracted through exploratory factor analysis, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 69.909%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.899 [95% CI (0.863-0.935), P<0.001]. The item-level content validity index ranged from 0.886 to 1.000, and the scale-level content validity index was 0.942. The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.711, and the Kendall's W coefficient measuring inter-rater reliability was 0.882. Conclusion: The inpatient aspiration risk assessment scale has shown good reliability and validity to screen and identify patients at risk of aspiration, providing a scientific and feasible assessment tool for clinical nursing management of aspiration.

Key words: adults; aspiration; risk assessment scale; nursing quality