Development of the rehabilitation patient experiences questionnaire: data quality, reliability and validity in patients with rheumatic diseases.
OBJECTIVE
To develop the Rehabilitation Patient Experiences Questionnaire for patients undergoing rehabilitation for rheumatological disorders.


METHODS
Development of the instrument was based on literature review and adaptation of the Patient Experiences Questionnaire. The instrument was piloted and then administered in a multicentre cohort study of 12 rehabilitation units.


RESULTS
The survey included 435 patients, of which 412 (94.7%) responded to the Rehabilitation Patient Experiences Questionnaire. Following principal component analysis, the initial 27 items were reduced to 18 items and 4 scales: rehabilitation care and organization, information and communication, availability of staff, and social environment. Item--total correlations ranged from 0.77 to 0.87. Cronbach's alpha exceeded the criterion of 0.7, and was 0.87, 0.86, 0.78, and 0.77 for the 4 scales, respectively. Construct validity was supported by correlations between the 4 scales and responses to individual questions, which were largely in the direction as hypothesized. Overall, patients reported good experiences. There were statistical differences across the rehabilitation settings in staff availability (p = 0.001) and social environment (p = 0.002), but no difference in care and organization and information/communication (p > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The 18-item Rehabilitation Patient Experiences Questionnaire is a promising outcome measure of experiences related to rehabilitation in patients with rheumatic diseases across different clinical settings. :
Grotle
Margreth
M
National Resource Center for Rehabilitation in Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. margreth.grotle@medisin.uio.no
Garratt
Andrew
A
Løchting
Ida
I
Kjeken
Ingvild
I
Klokkerud
Mari
M
Uhlig
Till
T
Hagen
Kåre Birger
KB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*