title: Psychometric properties of the consumer quality index to assess shelter and community care services.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our aim was to design a valid and reliable consumer quality index (CQI) specifically suited to assess the experiences that homeless people, homeless youth, and abused women have with shelter and community care services.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pilot CQI questionnaire was constructed on the basis of literature study, focus group discussions with clients, concept mapping by clients and shelter workers, and a pre-pilot study. The pilot questionnaire was completed by 762 clients using shelter facilities for homeless people, homeless youth or abused women. Psychometric and multilevel analyses were performed to optimize the instrument and determine its validity, reliability and discriminative power.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The preparatory research had revealed seven primary focus topics, all of which were incorporated into the pilot questionnaire. Psychometric analyses resulted in four reliable scales, one of which applied only to clients in residential, day or night shelter programs. The final instrument consisted of 42 items for community care clients and 52 for clients using residential facilities, and day and night shelters; 32 and 42 such items pertained to client experiences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The consumer quality index for shelter and community care services (CQI-SCCS) is a valid, reliable instrument for assessing the quality of these services. It provides guidance to facilities in quality maintenance and improvement, and it is useful in determining quality differences in facilities for homeless people and homeless youth.
authors.affiliation: Impuls - Netherlands Research Center for Social Care, Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mariëlle D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Beijersbergen
authors.affiliation: Impuls - Netherlands Research Center for Social Care, Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jolanda K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Asmoredjo
authors.affiliation: Impuls - Netherlands Research Center for Social Care, Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Milou G M
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Christians
authors.affiliation: Impuls - Netherlands Research Center for Social Care, Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands judith.wolf@radboudumc.nl.
authors.forename: Judith R L M
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*