Psychometric properties of a German version of the "Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale" (SIMS-D).
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to translate the Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale (SIMS) into German and test its psychometric properties in a German primary care setting. The SIMS was developed to assess the extent to which patients feel they have received enough information about their medicines.


METHODS
Three hundred seventy chronically ill patients were included in the study. The SIMS was translated to SIMS-D (German version) and evaluated in terms of acceptability, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant, and criterion-related validity.


RESULTS
The SIMS-D showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.92) and adequate test-retest reliability (Pearson's r > 0.7). Relationships to external criteria regarding medication management were acceptable (Spearman's rho > 0.4). The SIMS-D was reasonably well accepted (return rate of 71%); however, older people produced more missing values when filling in the questionnaire.


CONCLUSIONS
Preliminary evidence was given that the SIMS-D is a suitable instrument for measuring patient satisfaction with information about medicines in German primary care settings.
Mahler
Cornelia
C
Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital Heidelberg, Vossstrasse 2, Heidelberg, Germany. cornelia.mahler@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Jank
Susanne
S
Hermann
Katja
K
Horne
Rob
R
Ludt
Sabine
S
Haefeli
Walter E
WE
Szecsenyi
Joachim
J
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult
D055553:Prescription Drugs