The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #69292

Pei-Shu Ho, PhD, National Rehabilitation Hospital-Center for Health & Disability Research, Medstar Research Institute, 1016 16th Street, NW - Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 466-1912, pei-shu.ho@medstar.net, Susan E. Palsbo, PhD, MS, NRH Center for Health & Disability Research, Suite 400, 1016 Sixteenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036-5724, and Phillip W. Beatty, MA, National Rehabilitation Hospital Center for Health and Disability Research, 1016 16th St. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036.

Objective: To develop and add disability specific content and questions to the Consumer Assessment of Health Plan Study (CAHPS® ) to assess quality of care and access to care for adults with physical disabilities

Setting: Minnesota Disability Health Options (MnDHO), a comprehensive, prepaid managed care program for adults with physical disabilities in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

Methods: The survey instrument was designed for longitudinal assessment in both fee-for-service and managed care settings. It was based on the CAHPS® questionnaires, input from a consumer forum, and our previous work in identifying health care topics that are important to adults with physical disabilities. We also worked with representatives from AXIS/UCare Complete (health care providers), University of Minnesota (researchers), consumers, and the State of Minnesota Department of Human Services (payor) in order to ensure content validity and relevance to people with physical disabilities.

Results: The survey instrument has a total of 44 items combining Likert scales and dichotomous (yes/no) questions. The interview takes, on average, about one hour to complete. We fielded the pilot instrument to MnDHO enrollees in 2002. Volunteers from the Courage Center in Minnesota participated in the pilot evaluation of the survey instrument. To date, the content validity of the survey instrument has been established. We are in the process of evaluating the reliability and construct validity of the survey instrument.

Conclusions: A multi-method approach toward survey instrument development allows researchers to effectively identify and collect relevant information about the health care experience of people with physical disabilities.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand the methods of developing a survey instrument that evaluates quality of care and access to care for people with physical disabilities
• To identify the process of validating a survey instrument

Keywords: Quality of Care, Access to Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.