Psychometric Evaluation of the Perceived Research Burden Assessment (PeRBA) in Longitudinal Studies of Alzheimer Disease Using Rasch Analysis.

Abstract

The Perceived Research Burden Assessment (PeRBA) was developed to measure participant perceptions of burden in research studies. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of this assessment using Rasch analysis in participants in the longitudinal studies of the Alzheimer disease (AD) and their family members. PeRBA was administered to 443 participants in studies of AD and 212 family members across 4 Alzheimer Disease Research Centers. We used Rasch analysis to examine PeRBA's psychometric properties, and data-model fit both at item and scale levels. PeRBA demonstrated good reliability and item and person fit for participants and family members. A few items did not fit the model for participants or family members. Areas of content redundancy were found in items assessing similar amounts of perceived research burden. Areas of content gaps were also found, with no items assessing certain levels of perceived research burden. Analysis results support the good overall psychometric properties of PeRBA among research participants in studies of AD and their family members. Recommendations have been provided to improve the assessment, including rewording items and adding items that could account for a broader range of perceived research burden.