Development of an informational support questionnaire of transitional care for aged patients with chronic disease

Abstract

ObjectivesWe developed an informational support questionnaire of transitional care (ISQTC) for aged patients with chronic disease and investigated its reliability and validity.SettingThis study was conducted in three large general hospitals in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China.ParticipantsA total of 130 aged patients with chronic diseases, admitted into outpatient and inpatient departments from three hospitals in China, participated in the study. The inclusion criteria were: (1) patients must provide consent to participate; (2) being 60 years and above; (3) being diagnosed with at least one chronic disease and hospitalised more than two times within the last 1 year; (4) being able to listen, speak, read and write. The exclusion criteria were: (1) refusing to participate; (2) language expression and communication barriers (and having no caregiver to assist in participation); (3) being in intensive care or long-term hospitalisation.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe developed questionnaire was validated and tested for reliability. The content validity of the questionnaire was determined through experts’ interviews and Delphi expert consultation, and the structure validity of the questionnaire was determined by performing exploratory factor analysis. The coefficient of reliability of the questionnaire was measured using Cronbach’s alpha.ResultsThrough Delphi expert consultation and exploratory factor analysis, the questionnaire was reduced from four dimensions and 12 items to three dimensions and 11 items. A total of 130 patients responded to the questionnaire. The alpha coefficient was 0.747.ConclusionThe ISQTC is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating aged patients with chronic disease in transitional care.Trial registration detailsChiCTR1900020923. The trial was registered on 22 January 2019.

Multidimensional measure of instrumental support in transitional care – design and pilot test of a questionnaire assessing instrumental support among older adults with chronic diseases

“…Cronbach’s alpha for the ISTCQ (0.827) showed that all items had high consistency, demonstrating satisfactory reliability of internal consistency. The results are similar to previous studies on measuring the informational support of older adults with chronic diseases in transitional care [ 46 ]. In practice, few studies measured instrumental support alone.…”

Multidimensional Measure of Instrumental Support in Transitional Care – Design and Pilot Test of a Questionnaire Assessing Instrumental Support Among Older Adults With Chronic Diseases

“…Cronbach's alpha for the ISTCQ (0.827) showed that all items had high consistency, demonstrating satisfactory reliability of internal consistency. The results are similar to previous studies on measuring the informational support of older adults with chronic diseases in transitional care [43]. In practice, few studies measured instrumental support alone.…”

Factors Associated With Informational Support in Transitional Care for Older Adults With Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…IS was assessed with informational support questionnaire of transitional care (ISQTC; Shi et al, 2020) for older adults with chronic diseases. On the basis of the research, according to framework of social support theory, from three aspects of objective existed support, subjective perceived support and the utilization of support, combined with the four important factors including perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, accessibility of help, and centering on elderly patients with chronic diseases, we build the ISQTC.…”