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Measuring patient‐centredness in publicly funded fertility care: A New Zealand validation and international comparison of the Patient‐Centred Questionnaire‐Infertility
Author(s) -
Mourad Selma M.,
Curtis Cate,
Gudex Guy,
Merrilees Margaret,
Peek John,
Sadler Lynn
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/ajo.12869
Subject(s) - infertility , fertility , medicine , family medicine , cronbach's alpha , construct validity , reproductive medicine , gynecology , internal consistency , demography , pregnancy , psychometrics , nursing , patient satisfaction , clinical psychology , population , environmental health , genetics , biology , sociology
Background The Patient‐Centred Questionnaire‐Infertility ( PCQ ‐Infertility) has proven to be a reliable instrument to assess the extent of patient‐centredness of fertility care in European countries. Aims To validate the PCQ ‐Infertility in New Zealand ( NZ ) and to compare results with international experience. Materials and Methods A cross‐sectional 46‐item questionnaire study among 409 women undergoing publicly funded fertility care (intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilisation / intracytoplasmic sperm injection) in three fertility clinics in the Northern Auckland region was performed between October 2015 and September 2016. Inclusion of eligible participants was both retro‐ and prospective. The questionnaire was distributed by email link and women were asked to complete it with their partner. Internal consistency and construct validity were determined and correction for case mix was performed. Mean dimension scores, adjusted for ‘current pregnancy’, ‘educational level’ and ‘treatment type’, were calculated for each dimension of the PCQ ‐Infertility. NZ results were compared with PCQ ‐Infertility results from five countries. Results Of 409 invited women, 255 questionnaires were submitted (response rate 62%), of which 216 (53%) were analysable. The dimension ‘Care organization’ had poor internal consistency, but overall the questionnaire had high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.93). Construct validity was also good. International comparison showed NZ to have the second highest overall score. In New Zealand, the lowest scoring domain was ‘Continuity and transition’. Conclusions The NZ version of the PCQ ‐infertility proved a valid instrument for the assessment of patient‐centredness of publicly funded fertility care. Future research should focus on international inequities in patient‐centred fertility care and use of the tool for quality improvement. Local use of the PCQ ‐Infertility is encouraged.