OBJECTIVE: To develop and pilot test a generic questionnaire to measure continuity of care from the patient's perspective across primary and secondary care settings. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We developed the Nijmegen Continuity Questionnaire (NCQ) based on a systematic literature review and analysis of 30 patient interviews. The questionnaire consisted of 16 items about the patient-provider relationship to be answered for five different care providers and 14 items each on the collaboration between four groups of care providers. The questionnaire was distributed among patients with a chronic disease recruited from general practice. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to identify subscales. We refined the factors by excluding several items, for example, items with a high missing rate. RESULTS: In total, 288 patients filled out the questionnaire (response rate, 72%). PCA yielded three subscales: "personal continuity: care provider knows me," "personal continuity: care provider shows commitment," and "team/cross-boundary continuity." Internal consistency of the subscales ranged from 0.82 to 0.89. Interscale correlations varied between 0.42 and 0.61. CONCLUSION: The NCQ shows to be a comprehensive, reliable, and valid instrument. Further testing of reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness is needed before the NCQ can be more widely implemented.
OBJECTIVE: To develop and pilot test a generic questionnaire to measure continuity of care from the patient's perspective across primary and secondary care settings. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We developed the Nijmegen Continuity Questionnaire (NCQ) based on a systematic literature review and analysis of 30 patient interviews. The questionnaire consisted of 16 items about the patient-provider relationship to be answered for five different care providers and 14 items each on the collaboration between four groups of care providers. The questionnaire was distributed among patients with a chronic disease recruited from general practice. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to identify subscales. We refined the factors by excluding several items, for example, items with a high missing rate. RESULTS: In total, 288 patients filled out the questionnaire (response rate, 72%). PCA yielded three subscales: "personal continuity: care provider knows me," "personal continuity: care provider shows commitment," and "team/cross-boundary continuity." Internal consistency of the subscales ranged from 0.82 to 0.89. Interscale correlations varied between 0.42 and 0.61. CONCLUSION: The NCQ shows to be a comprehensive, reliable, and valid instrument. Further testing of reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness is needed before the NCQ can be more widely implemented.
Authors: Annemarie A Uijen; Henk J Schers; François G Schellevis; Henk G A Mokkink; Chris van Weel; Wil Jhm van den Bosch Journal: Br J Gen Pract Date: 2012-07 Impact factor: 5.386
Authors: Jan H L Ypinga; Angelika D Van Halteren; Emily J Henderson; Bastiaan R Bloem; Agnes J Smink; Emma Tenison; Marten Munneke; Yoav Ben-Shlomo; Sirwan K L Darweesh Journal: BMC Neurol Date: 2021-07-23 Impact factor: 2.474
Authors: Annemarie A Uijen; Claire W Heinst; Francois G Schellevis; Wil J H M van den Bosch; Floris A van de Laar; Caroline B Terwee; Henk J Schers Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-07-31 Impact factor: 3.240