Measurement properties of instruments measuring integrated care: a systematic review

Abstract

Integrated care has been suggested as a means to improve the accessibility and quality of healthcare, with the ultimate end of enhancing the health and wellbeing of patients and communities. However, the variations in the concept of integrated care across different stakeholders pose a considerable challenge to an otherwise expanding research area. Despite such promising views, information on standardized and validated tools to measure integrated care is limited. Against this backdrop, a systematic review on the measurement properties of instruments measuring integrated care will be conducted to provide insights on the state of the art in measuring integrated care and related concepts. The systematic review aims to answer three main questions: (1) what instruments are currently available to measure integrated care and how can they be categorized; (2) what measures were used to describe the degree of healthcare integration; and (3) what is the strength of evidence supporting the value of the measures reported (i.e., measurement properties)? Building on existing conceptual frameworks from previous research, a preliminary literature search was conducted to develop a search strategy in PubMed and Medline. The study selection criteria were developed and pilot tested in a sample of the main search results (N=8,095). Selection of articles and subsequent data extraction will be performed to evaluate the methodological quality of eligible articles. The systematic review will then identify instruments measuring integrated care and evaluate their measurement properties using the Consensus based standards for the selection of health based Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) manual and checklist. The expected results – to be presented at the conference – will provide an overall picture of the available instruments for measuring integrated care and contribute in positioning newly developed and validated instruments in the evolving landscape of integrated care. World Congress on Integrated Care 2014, Sydney, November 23-26, 2014. International Journal of Integrated Care – Volume 14, 8 December – URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-116586– http://www.ijic.org/