A state-of-the-art review of direct observation tools for assessing competency in person-centred care

Are the content and usability of a new direct observation tool adequate for assessing competency in delivering person-centred care: a think-aloud study with patients and healthcare professionals in Sweden

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the content and usability of a new direct observation tool for assessing competency in delivering person-centred care based on the Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care (gPCC) framework.

DESIGN

This is a qualitative study using think-aloud techniques and retrospective probing interviews and analyzed using deductive content analysis.

SETTING

Sessions were conducted remotely via Zoom with participants in their homes or offices.

PARTICIPANTS

11 participants with lengthy experience of receiving, delivering and/or implementing gPCC were recruited using purposeful sampling and selected to represent a broad variety of stakeholders and potential end-users.

RESULTS

Participants generally considered the content of the four main domains of the tool, that is, person-centred care activities, clinician manner, clinician skills and person-centred care goals, to be comprehensive and relevant for assessing person-centred care in general and gPCC in particular. Some participants pointed to the need to expand person-centred care activities to better reflect the emphasis on eliciting patient resources/capabilities and psychosocial needs in the gPCC framework. Think-aloud analyses revealed some usability issues primarily regarding difficulties or uncertainties in understanding several words and in using the rating scale. Probing interviews indicated that these problems could be mitigated by improving written instructions regarding response options and by replacing some words. Participants generally were satisfied with the layout and structure of the tool, but some suggested enlarging font size and text spacing to improve readability.

CONCLUSION

The tool appears to satisfactorily cover major person-centred care activities outlined in the gPCC framework. The inclusion of content concerning clinician manner and skills was seen as a relevant embellishment of the framework and as contributing to a more comprehensive assessment of clinician performance in the delivery of person-centred care. A revised version addressing observed content and usability issues will be tested for inter-rater and intra-rater reliability and for feasibility of use in healthcare education and quality improvement efforts.

Person-centered care assessment tool with a focus on quality healthcare: a systematic review of psychometric properties

BACKGROUND

The person-centered care (PCC) approach plays a fundamental role in ensuring quality healthcare. The Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT) is one of the shortest and simplest tools currently available for measuring PCC. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the evidence in validation studies of the P-CAT, taking the "Standards" as a frame of reference.

METHODS

First, a systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA method. Second, a systematic descriptive literature review of validity tests was conducted following the "Standards" framework. The search strategy and information sources were obtained from the Cochrane, Web of Science (WoS), Scopus and PubMed databases. With regard to the eligibility criteria and selection process, a protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022335866), and articles had to meet criteria for inclusion in the systematic review.

RESULTS

A total of seven articles were included. Empirical evidence indicates that these validations offer a high number of sources related to test content, internal structure for dimensionality and internal consistency. A moderate number of sources pertain to internal structure in terms of test-retest reliability and the relationship with other variables. There is little evidence of response processes, internal structure in measurement invariance terms, and test consequences.

DISCUSSION

The various validations of the P-CAT are not framed in a structured, valid, theory-based procedural framework like the "Standards" are. This can affect clinical practice because people's health may depend on it. The findings of this study show that validation studies continue to focus on the types of validity traditionally studied and overlook interpretation of the scores in terms of their intended use.

Behavioural observation tool for patient involvement and collaboration in emergency care teams (PIC-ET-tool)

BACKGROUND

Patient participation is advocated in various healthcare settings. Instruments for assessment and feedback have been developed to strengthen clinician-patient interaction. In an emergency department context, such instruments are still missing. The study aimed to develop and test an observation tool for emergency teams' behaviour regarding patient involvement and collaboration.

METHODS

The development of the behavioural observation tool followed a systematic approach. The tool's content was based on various data sources, i.e., published literature, interview and observational data, and expert consensus. An international expert panel reviewed the content and the rating scale and rated its importance for patient involvement and collaboration in a Delphi process. The feasibility and reliability of the tool were tested by trained observers using video recordings of simulated emergencies. Intraclass correlation (ICC) and Kappa-statistics were performed to test the tool's inter-rater reliability.

RESULTS

The PIC-ET tool, a 22-item observation instrument was developed in which patient involvement and collaboration behaviours are rated from 'no' to 'high' using behavioural anchors. Expert agreement was obtained after three Delphi rounds on the tool content, the behavioural anchors and its importance for patient involvement and collaboration. The content validity was assessed as high, and the tool was found feasible for research. Overall inter-rater reliability was fair (Kappa 0.52).

CONCLUSIONS

A novel tool for assessing emergency teams' behaviour regarding patient involvement and collaboration is introduced. The tool's psychometric properties were fair to good. Further validation of the PIC-ET tool is recommended for more robust evidence. Future adaptation to different contexts and areas of use, as well as further validity testing may be of value.

Measurement of person-centred consultation skills among healthcare practitioners: a systematic review of reviews of validation studies

BACKGROUND

Person-centred care is integral to high-quality health service provision, though concepts vary and the literature is complex. Validated instruments that measure person-centred practitioner skills, and behaviours within consultations, are needed for many reasons, including in training programmes. We aimed to provide a high-level synthesis of what was expected to be a large and diverse literature through a systematic review of existing reviews of validation studies a of instruments that measure person-centred practitioner skills and behaviours in consultations. The objectives were to undertake a critical appraisal of these reviews, and to summarise the available validated instruments and the evidence underpinning them.

METHODS

A systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL was conducted in September 2020. Systematic reviews of validation studies of instruments measuring individual practitioner person-centred consultation skills or behaviours which report measurement properties were included. Review quality was assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. Details of the reviews, the included validation studies, and the instruments themselves are tabulated, including psychometric data, and a narrative overview of the reviews is provided.

RESULTS

Four reviews were eligible for inclusion. These used different conceptualisations of person-centredness and targeted distinct, sometimes mutually exclusive, practitioners and settings. The four reviews included 68 unique validation studies examining 42 instruments, but with very few overlaps. The critical appraisal shows there is a need for improvements in the design of reviews in this area. The instruments included within these reviews have not been subject to extensive validation study.

DISCUSSION

There are many instruments available which measure person-centred skills in healthcare practitioners and this study offers a guide to what is available to researchers and research users. The most relevant and promising instruments that have already been developed, or items within them, should be further studied rigorously. Validation study of existing material is needed, not the development of new measures.

Adaptation and Validation of the Person-Centred Assessment Tool for the Acute Care Setting

INTRODUCTION

Person-centred care (PCC) is synonymous with best practice in the care of persons with dementia. Despite this, PCC is not routinely assessed, and there is no validated tool for in the acute care setting. We aimed to validate the Person-Centred Assessment Tool (P-CAT) in an acute setting.

METHODS

P-CAT was administered independently to a total of 161 nurses (n = 16, from a specialized dementia unit with PCC training; n = 116, geriatric wards; n = 30, medical/surgical wards). The word "residents" was replaced with "patients" in P-CAT. We employed confirmatory factor analysis with principal component extraction to verify the previously reported three- and two-factor solutions. A one-way between-groups ANOVA was then used to investigate group differences in the P-CAT score (total scale and subscale).

RESULTS

Factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution (explained variance 42.28%): (i) extent of personalizing care and (ii) amount of organizational and environmental support. Out of the 13 items, only 2 items did not load as expected. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was satisfactory (Cronbach's α = 0.77). Nurses' P-CAT scores were significantly different across ward settings [Welch's F(2,37.20) = 13.01, p < 0.001, ω2 = 0.09], with the highest among those PCC trained. Post hoc analyses revealed a significant difference in mean subscale scores between PCC-trained nurses and nurses from the other two ward settings. P-CAT scores were not significantly correlated with age, r(159) = 0.01, p = 0.861, or with nursing experience, r(159) = 0.04, p = 0.615.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

P-CAT possesses adequate validity and reliability as a quantitative assessment tool of PCC in the acute care setting.

Observable indicators of person-centred care: an interview study with patients, relatives and professionals

OBJECTIVE

To identify key observable indicators of person-centred care (PCC) from interviews with patients, relatives and professionals with experience of receiving or working with PCC.

DESIGN

A qualitative interview study using deductive content analysis.

SETTING

Primary and hospital care settings in Western Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS

Twelve participants with extensive experience of receiving or working with PCC were interviewed: two patients, two patients representative with long-term conditions, one relative and informal carer, three registered nurses, one physician, two occupational therapists and one social worker/researcher.

RESULTS

Nine observable indicators were identified and subsumed under three predetermined categories: initiating, working and safeguarding the partnership. The first category comprised three subcategories: welcoming, interested and courteous reception; agreeing on structure and aims of the conversation; and eliciting patients' wishes for involvement of significant others. The second category comprised four subcategories: attentive, empathic and encouraging manner; promoting mutual understanding; promoting patient engagement; and encouraging and friendly body language. The last category consisted of two subcategories: collaboration and transparency in documentation and verifying that patient's and professional's views, goals and wants are correctly documented.

CONCLUSION

Our results underline the need for health professionals to actively and conscientiously convey to patients their interest in and respect for the patient as a person and their willingness to collaborate as partners in their care from the very outset of the interaction. Non-verbal behaviours were seen to play a major role in shaping patients' impressions of health professionals. Given that patients' first impressions were considered to impact the content, course and outcomes of the interaction, more research attention should be given to their implications for the effective delivery of PCC.

The psychometric properties of the person-centered therapeutic relationship in physiotherapy scale

OBJECTIVE

To determine the psychometric properties of the Person-Centered Therapeutic Relationship in Physiotherapy Scale (PCTR-PT) in order to find the most appropriate fit for the tool.

METHODS

Patients who had received treatment at the physiotherapy service of nine hospitals in Spain were invited to complete the 31 items of the PCTR-PT scale. To select the most appropriate items of the PCTR-PT, an exploratory factorial analysis (EFA) was performed using the maximum likelihood and oblique rotation (promin) methods. Factor validity, goodness-of-fit and psychometric properties were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Convergent (CFA) and discriminant validity were calculated. Internal consistency was verified using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to examine temporal stability.

RESULTS

366 patients over 18 years old who had received, at least, 15 physiotherapy treatment sessions completed the questionnaire. The results of the exploratory factor analysis revealed a tool with 15 items in four factors [Relational Bond (N items = 4); Individualized Partnership (N items = 4); Professional Empowerment (N items = 3) and Therapeutic Communication (N items = 4)], explaining 78.4% of the variance of the total variables of this tool. The confirmatory factor analysis further confirmed the four-structure model. Reliability of the tool was approved by Cronbach's alpha in all four dimensions, as all were above .70, ranging from .84 (Individualized Partnership) to .91 (Professional Empowerment). = 0.94. Test-retest was performed with two-week intervals, indicating an appropriate stability for the scale (ICC = 0.900).

CONCLUSION

The Person-Centered Therapeutic Relationship in Physiotherapy Scale (PCTR-PT) is a useful, valid and applicable instrument to evaluate the person-centered therapeutic relationship during physiotherapy interventions. It would be interesting to investigate the predictive capacity (sensitivity and specificity) of the PCTR-PT scale.

Striving for a more person-centered psychosis care: results of a hospital-based multi-professional educational intervention

BACKGROUND

Reluctance on the part of mental health professionals constitutes an important barrier to patient participation in care. In order to stimulate person-centeredness in the inpatient care of persons with psychotic illness, we developed and tested an educational intervention for hospital staff (including psychiatrists) at all four wards at the Psychosis Clinic, Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. The intervention was co-created by professionals, patients, and researchers using a participatory approach. In addition to lectures and workshops, staff created and implemented small projects to increase person-centeredness on their own wards. A primary focus was to establish a partnership between patient and staff by capturing and utilizing the patient's narrative to support active engagement in the care process. This included the development of a person-centered care plan. We hypothesized that the intervention would be associated with increased patient empowerment (primary outcome) and satisfaction with care (secondary outcome).

METHODS

A before and after design was used to test group differences in patient empowerment (Empowerment Scale) and consumer satisfaction (UKU-ConSat Rating Scale). All patients receiving inpatient psychosis care during measuring periods were eligible if meeting inclusion criteria of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, age > 18, and ability to comprehend study information. Severe cognitive deficit and inadequate Swedish language skills were exclusion criteria. Data on possible confounding variables including overall health (EQ-5D), symptom burden (PANSS), and functional ability (GAF) were collected alongside outcome measures.

RESULTS

ANCOVAs with overall health as a confounding variable showed no group differences regarding empowerment before (n = 50) versus after (n = 49) intervention, sample mean = 2.87/2.99, p = .142, eta² = .02, CI = -.27-.04. Consumer satisfaction (n = 50/50) was higher in the post-implementation group (4.46 versus 11.71, p = .041 eta² = .04, CI = -14.17- -.31).

CONCLUSION

The hypothesis regarding the primary outcome, empowerment, was not supported. An increase in the secondary outcome, satisfaction, was observed, although the effect size was small, and results should be interpreted with caution. Findings from this staff educational intervention can inform the development of future studies aimed at improvement of inpatient care for persons with severe mental illness.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The trial was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov June 9, 2017, identifier: NCT03182283.