Psychometric evaluation of the Spanish version of CONNECT: a measure of continuity of care in mental health services

Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2007;16(1):23-33. doi: 10.1002/mpr.200.

Abstract

This article provides the results of the psychometric testing of the Spanish version of CONNECT(-S), a measure of continuity of care in mental health services. CONNECT-S is a multidimensional measure designed for use with seriously mentally ill respondents. Consisting of 12 scales and one single-item indicator, it addresses qualities of interaction in current relationships between mental health service providers and consumers in five conceptual domains: (1) practitioner knowledge of their clients, (2) creating flexibility, (3) practitioner availability, (4) practitioner co-ordination, and (5) smoothing transitions. One-hundred-and-fifty participants took part in the study. Participants were recruited from mental health outpatient clinics in both the Puerto Rican (n = 109) and the San Antonio (n = 41) samples. Internal consistency for scales in a combined site estimate ranged from 0.68 to 0.96. Test-retest reliability ranged from fair to substantial in all but one scale. Concurrent validity hypotheses based on a priori predictions were mostly supported. The Spanish translation and adaptation of CONNECT-S provided sound psychometric results across both sites. CONNECT-S addresses the gap in measurement of continuity of care for the two largest US Latino subgroups, Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans; and provides an encouraging starting point for a measure that is both relevant and culturally sensitive.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Continuity of Patient Care / standards*
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology
  • Mental Disorders / therapy
  • Mental Health Services*
  • Mexican Americans
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Psychometrics*
  • Quality of Health Care*
  • Quality of Life
  • Reproducibility of Results