Abstract
Objective: To build and validate a nursing instrument for assessing dyspnea, aiming at its potential application in health care. Methods: This is a prospective, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. An instrument with 13 items was constructed, which underwent content validation by 12 nurses working in the pulmonology clinic of a University Hospital, through the assessment of three variables: clarity, relevance and relevance. Statistical analysis was performed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) (80% agreement) and the chi-square test. Results: Individually, the three variables showed high levels of correlation between the judges, the items "care management" and "follow-up form", obtained 90.5% regarding clarity. The item “signs of respiratory distress” showed a greater correlation regarding pertinence and relevance with 93.9% in both. The final ICC of the instrument was 0.173 (excellent reliability), with p value 0.45. Only one item failed to reach the minimum values established, being excluded from the final instrument. Conclusion: This tool makes it possible to guide nursing practices, assisting in decision-making with a satisfactory range of effectiveness, since it highlights the dimensions, classifications and influences of dyspnea.