Anesthesiology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Anesthesiology, including details on clinical anesthesiology, evidence based practice, techniques.

Patient Experiences with the Preoperative Assessment Clinic (PEPAC): validation of an instrument to measure patient experiences.

Edward GM, Lemaire LC, Preckel B, Oort FJ, Bucx MJ, Hollmann MW, de Haes JC

Department of Anaesthesiology, Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 22700, 1100 DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: Presently, no comprehensive and validated questionnaire to measure patient experiences of the preoperative assessment clinic (PAC) is available. We developed and validated the Patient Experiences with the Preoperative Assessment Clinic (PEPAC) questionnaire, which can be used for quantitative measurements of patient experiences of the PAC. METHODS: We adapted the National Health Service outpatient questionnaire, incorporating questions specific for anaesthesiology. To make the PEPAC appropriate for quantitative measurements, dimensions and single items suitable for statistical analysis were constructed. Each dimension consists of multiple items measuring the same aspect of care. Reliability was established by computing Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Construct validity was assessed by correlating the dimensions with the patient's overall appraisal (Pearson's r). These dimensions should explain a substantial level of variance of the patients' overall appraisal; therefore, regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: After a pilot phase, the questionnaire was sent to 700 consecutive patients (response 74%). Five scales measuring five dimensions of patient experiences were constructed. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.56 to 0.84, supporting reliability of the PEPAC. Correlations between the dimensions and patients' overall appraisal ranged from 0.22 to 0.56. Collectively, the five scales explained 51% of patients' overall appraisal. CONCLUSIONS: The PEPAC is a comprehensive, reliable, and validated questionnaire to measure patient experiences with the PAC. It might be a useful tool to identify the service areas of the PAC that require improvement and to determine which actions can bring about improvement.

Published 15 October 2007 in Br J Anaesth, 99(5): 666-72.
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