Development of a questionnaire to assess communication preferences of patients with chronic illness.
OBJECTIVE
the objectives of the study are to develop a patient-oriented and theory-based questionnaire on the communication preferences of chronically ill patients (KOPRA questionnaire) and to carry out psychometric testing of the instrument.


METHODS
following two preliminary studies (focus groups, cognitive interviews), a total of 472 patients with chronic back pain or chronic ischemic heart disease were surveyed. In the main sample (N=333), communication preferences regarding the physician were assessed; for N=89 (or N=50) patients, preferences regarding nursing staff (or therapists) were analyzed. Psychometric testing was done with respect to unidimensionality, fit to an item response theory (IRT) model, and for reliability. The questionnaire was developed and validated in German.


RESULTS
In the physician version with a total of 32 items, there are four scales ("Patient participation and patient orientation", "Effective and open communication", "Emotionally supportive communication", and "Communication about personal circumstances") that are unidimensional, fulfill the demands for a 1-parameter IRT model, and are reliable (Cronbach's alpha between .80 and .92). The psychometric properties with respect to nursing staff and therapists are slightly worse.


CONCLUSIONS
the KOPRA questionnaire has good psychometric properties.


CONCLUSIONS
clinical use of the questionnaire appears useful to determine patients' communication preferences.
Farin
Erik
E
University Medical Center Freiburg, Dept. of Quality Management and Social Medicine, Engelbergerstr. 21, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany. erik.farin@uniklinik-freburg.de
Gramm
Lukas
L
Kosiol
Desiree
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001416:Back Pain / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010358:Patient Participation; D057240:Patient Preference; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult