Evaluating the content of a patient-reported outcome measure for people with multimorbidity: a Delphi consensus

Development of a patient-reported outcome measure of digital health literacy for chronic patients: results of a French international online Delphi study

BACKGROUND

A psychometrically robust patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to assess digital health literacy for chronic patients is needed in the context of digital health. We defined measurement constructs for a new PROM in previous studies using a systematic review, a qualitative description of constructs from patients, health professionals and an item pool identification process. This study aimed to evaluate the content validity of a digital health literacy PROM for chronic patients using an e-Delphi technique.

METHODS

An international three-round online Delphi (e-Delphi) study was conducted among a francophone expert panel gathering academics, clinicians and patient partners. These experts rated the relevance, improvability, and self-ratability of each construct (n = 5) and items (n = 14) of the preliminary version of the PROM on a 5-point Likert scale. Consensus attainment was defined as strong if ≥ 70% panelists agree or strongly agree. A qualitative analysis of comments was carried out to describe personal coping strategies in healthcare expressed by the panel. Qualitative results were presented using a conceptually clustered matrix.

RESULTS

Thirty-four experts completed the study (with 10% attrition at the second round and 5% at the third round). The panel included mostly nurses working in clinical practice and academics from nursing science, medicine, public health background and patient partners. Five items were excluded, and one question was added during the consensus attainment process. Qualitative comments describing the panel view of coping strategies in healthcare were analysed. Results showed two important themes that underpin most of personal coping strategies related to using information and communications technologies: 1) questionable patient capacity to assess digital health literacy, 2) digital devices as a factor influencing patient and care.

CONCLUSION

Consensus was reached on the relevance, improvability, and self-ratability of 5 constructs and 11 items for a digital health literacy PROM. Evaluation of e-health programs requires validated measurement of digital health literacy including the empowerment construct. This new PROM appears as a relevant tool, but requires further validation.

Challenges in Multimorbidity Research: Lessons Learned From the Most Recent Randomized Controlled Trials in Primary Care

Multimorbidity has received much attention and there is a growing number of original studies. However, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have failed to demonstrate effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving outcomes for patient with multimorbidity in primary care. The purpose of this article is to synthesize and analyze the most recent RCTs to identify the factors that may have contribute to the success or lack of success in order to draw lessons to inform further development in intervention research. A scoping review was conducted to include current up-to-date state-of-the-art studies in primary care published from 2019. Nine articles reporting on six RCTs studies were included in the review. The findings were mixed, with primary outcomes showing no differences between intervention and control groups in four of the six but differences in secondary outcomes in all six. All studies involved family practice patients but interventions took place at different sites, and the time between the beginning of the intervention and the time of evaluation of outcomes varied across studies. Authors reported issues regarding the need for training of care teams, the roles and composition of the teams, the selection of patients and implementation barriers of the complex interventions in trying contexts with not enough time for the changes required. The randomized controlled design may not be the best evaluation design given the complexity of the interventions, and alternative designs should be considered in which qualitative components are included. Further attention to outcome measures and to equity issues is recommended.