title: Novel study design to assess the utility of the copd assessment test in a primary care setting.
abstract: The quality of a consultation provided by a physician can have a profound impact on the quality of care and patient engagement in treatment decisions. When the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) was developed, one of its aims was to aid the communication between physician and patient about the impact of COPD. We developed a novel study design to assess this in a primary care consultation. Primary care physicians across five countries in Europe conducted videoed consultations with six standardised COPD patients (played by trained actors) which had patient-specific issues that the physician needed to identify through questioning. Half the physicians saw the patients with the completed CAT, and half without. Independent assessors scored the physicians on their ability to identify and address the patient-specific issues, review standard COPD aspects, their understanding of the case and their overall performance. This novel study design presented many challenges which needed to be addressed to achieve an acceptable level of robustness to assess the utility of the CAT. This paper discusses these challenges and the measures adopted to eliminate or minimise their impact on the study results.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gruffydd-Jones
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marsden
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kardos
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Escamilla
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dal Negro
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nadeau
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leather
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D019985:Benchmarking; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D037001:Directive Counseling; D005060:Europe; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010358:Patient Participation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D014741:Video Recording