Challenges in measuring interprofessional-interorganisational collaboration with a questionnaire.

Loes J Meijer,Esther de Groot,Roger AMJ Damoiseaux,Maarten van Smeden,François G Schellevis

doi:10.3399/bjgpopen18x101385

Abstract

BackgroundCollaboration between medical professionals from separate organisations is necessary to deliver good patient care. This care is influenced by professionals’ perceptions about their collaboration. Until now, no instrument to measure such perceptions was available in the Netherlands. A questionnaire developed and validated in Spain was translated to assess perceptions about clinicians’ collaboration in primary and secondary care in the Dutch setting.AimValidation in the Dutch setting of a Spanish questionnaire that aimed to assess perceptions of clinicians about interorganisational collaboration.Design & settingAfter translation, cultural adaptation, and pre-testing, the questionnaire was sent to GPs and secondary care clinicians (SCCs) in three regions in the Netherlands. The responses of 445 responders were used to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire.MethodA confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were performed to study the construct validity of the hypothesised factor model underlying the questionnaire. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using weighted Kappa statistics.ResultsResults of the CFA indicated poor fit of the hypothesised factor structure. EFA, executed separately for each region, showed a highly unstable factor structure. The test-retest reliability analysis demonstrated low re-test reliability.ConclusionThe underlying factor structure of a Spanish questionnaire could not be reproduced. The construct validity and reliability of this questionnaire were insufficient to warrant use in the Dutch setting. This study demonstrates the need for evaluating validity and reliability of questionnaires in local settings.

Highlights

Interprofessional collaboration is necessary for patient-centred care, especially in the complex context of an ageing population in which multimorbidity is common.[1]
The data collected in three different Dutch regions allowed for a cross-regional comparison of validity, by comparing confirmatory factor models with sufficient
A limitation of this study is that the response rate (33%), higher than in the original study, was limited

Summary

Introduction

Interprofessional collaboration is necessary for patient-centred care, especially in the complex context of an ageing population in which multimorbidity is common.[1]. A few questionnaires have been developed which aim to measure the level of collaboration of professionals in a single organisation or a single team.[16,17,18,19,20] Questionnaires that measure conditions for collaboration across the borders of organisations are scarce, with a few exceptions.[21,22] The Dutch questionnaire developed and studied by Berendsen et al quantifies how SCCs and GPs value their mutual collaboration. Nuno-Solinıs et al’s Spanish questionnaire measures the conditions for collaboration, while taking the influence of the work environment into account.[21,22]

Methods

Results

Conclusion