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

OBJECTIVES: We developed an informational support questionnaire of transitional care (ISQTC) for aged patients with chronic disease and investigated its reliability and validity. SETTING: This study was conducted in three large general hospitals in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China. PARTICIPANTS: A 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 MEASURES: The 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. RESULTS: Through 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. CONCLUSION: The ISQTC is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating aged patients with chronic disease in transitional care. TRIAL REGISTRATION DETAILS: ChiCTR1900020923. The trial was registered on 22 January 2019.