Measuring renewed expertise for integrated care among health- and social-care professionals: development and preliminary validation of the ICE-Q questionnaire

M.J. van der Aa*, J.R. van den Broeke, K. Stronks, W.B. Busschers, T. Plochg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Accumulations of health and social problems challenge current health systems. It is hypothesized that professionals should renew their expertise by adapting generalist, coaching, and population health orientation capacities to address these challenges. This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument for evaluating this renewal of professional expertise. The (Dutch) Integrated Care Expertise Questionnaire (ICE-Q) was developed and piloted. Psychometric analysis evaluated item, criterion, construct, and content validity. Theory and an iterative process of expert consultation constructed the ICE-Q, which was sent to 616 professionals, of whom 294 participated in the pilot (47.7%). Factor analysis (FA) identified six areas of expertise: holistic attitude towards patients (Cronbach's alpha [CA] = 0.61) and considering their social context (CA = 0.77), both related to generalism; coaching to support patient empowerment (CA = 0.66); preventive action (CA = 0.48); valuing local health knowledge (CA = 0.81); and valuing local facility knowledge (CA = 0.67) point at population health orientation. Inter-scale correlations ranged between 0.01 and 0.34. Item-response theory (IRT) indicated some items were less informative. The resulting 26-item questionnaire is a first tool for measuring integrated care expertise. The study process led to a developed understanding of the concept. Further research is warranted to improve the questionnaire.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)56-64
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Interprofessional Care
Volume30
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • Fragmentation
  • integration
  • interprofessional research
  • professionalism
  • questionnaire designs
  • MULTIPLE CHRONIC CONDITIONS
  • POPULATION HEALTH
  • MULTIMORBIDITY
  • DISEASE
  • EPIDEMIOLOGY
  • BURDEN
  • COSTS
  • NEEDS
  • STAY

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