Roberge D, Haddad S, Ducharme F, Lebel P, Pineault R, Remondin M, Loiselle J; Association for Health Services Research. Meeting.
Abstr Book Assoc Health Serv Res Meet. 1999; 16: 369.
Center de recherche du CHUM, Campus Notre-Dame, Montreal, Quebec H2L 4M1, Canada.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: Most studies of caregivers' perception of the quality of care have used predefined attributed which respondents have been asked to rank or choose. Often, the same questionnaires were used for measuring elderly patients' and caregivers' opinions. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of a scale for measuring caregivers' perceived quality of care in Short Term Geriatric Assessment Units (STGAU). The scale content was generated from previous focus groups with 21 caregivers. STUDY DESIGN: A mailed questionnaire was sent to 409 caregivers of elderly patients recently released from 13 STGAU in the province of Quebec in 1997-98. Two hundred and seventy nine (68%) caregivers responded. The 25 item scale includes three subscales. Analysis of internal consistency and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were used to estimate reliability. Various statistical procedures were applied to test construct validity (factorial, predictive, trait, nomological). RESULTS: The three subscales relate to (1) communication with professionals on parent's diagnosis, tests and treatments, (2) technical and interpersonal aspects of care given to parent, (3) preparation for discharge. Reliability of the subscales ranges from 0.88 to 0.91. Overall, validity analysis suggests good construct validity. Hypothesis testing of the relationships between caregivers' characteristics and perceived quality (nomological validity) were less conclusive. CONCLUSION: Results support the use of the scale. Validation process of this first generation scale should, however, be pursued. The scale has two major strong points. First, its content is based on caregivers' perspective about the quality of care. Second, the wording of the items was inspired by caregivers' interview responses. Consequently, it is believed that items were easy to comprehend. Efforts should be oriented toward a better understanding of caregivers' determinants of perceived quality. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY, DELIVERY OR PRACTICE: Caregivers are faced with increased responsibilities for the care of their vulnerable parent. Yet, their options are rarely seeked or integrated in quality assessment processes. Hopefully, the availability of valid instruments will encourage providers of geriatric services to become more accountable to caregivers of frail elderly.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Aged
- Caregivers
- Focus Groups
- Frail Elderly
- Geriatric Assessment
- Humans
- Interviews as Topic
- Perception
- Quebec
- Questionnaires
- Weights and Measures
- hsrmtgs
Other ID:
UI: 102194727
From Meeting Abstracts