Psychometric evaluation of the Care Transition Measure in TRACE-CORE: do we need a better measure?

doi:10.1161/JAHA.114.001053

. 2014 Jun 4;3(3):e001053.

doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001053.

Psychometric evaluation of the Care Transition Measure in TRACE-CORE: do we need a better measure?

Milena D Anatchkova¹, Constance M Barysauskas², Rebecca L Kinney¹, Catarina I Kiefe¹, Arlene S Ash¹, Lisa Lombardini¹, Jeroan J Allison¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA (M.D.A., R.L.K., C.I.K., A.S.A., L.L., J.J.A.).
² Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (C.M.B.).

PMID: 24901109
PMCID: PMC4309102
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001053

Psychometric evaluation of the Care Transition Measure in TRACE-CORE: do we need a better measure?

Milena D Anatchkova et al. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014.

. 2014 Jun 4;3(3):e001053.

doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001053.

Authors

Milena D Anatchkova¹, Constance M Barysauskas², Rebecca L Kinney¹, Catarina I Kiefe¹, Arlene S Ash¹, Lisa Lombardini¹, Jeroan J Allison¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA (M.D.A., R.L.K., C.I.K., A.S.A., L.L., J.J.A.).
² Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (C.M.B.).

PMID: 24901109
PMCID: PMC4309102
DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001053

Abstract

Background: The quality of transitional care is associated with important health outcomes such as rehospitalization and costs. The widely used Care Transitions Measure (CTM-15) was developed with a classic test theory approach; its short version (CTM-3) was included in the CAHPS Hospital Survey. We conducted a psychometric evaluation of both measures and explored whether item response theory (IRT) could produce a more precise measure.

Methods and results: As part of the Transitions, Risks, and Actions in Coronary Events Center for Outcomes Research and Education, 1545 participants were interviewed during an acute coronary syndrome hospitalization, providing information on general health status (Short Form-36), CTM-15, health utilization, and care process questions at 1 month postdischarge. We used classic and IRT analyses and compared the measurement precision of CTM-15-, CTM-3-, and CTM-IRT-based score using relative validity. Participants were 79% non-Hispanic white and 67% male, with an average age of 62 years. The CTM-15 had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.95) but demonstrated acquiescence bias (8.7% participants responded "Strongly agree" and 19% responded "Agree" to all items) and limited score variability. These problems were more pronounced for the CTM-3. The CTM-15 differentiated between patient groups defined by self-reported health status, health care utilization, and care transition process indicators. Differences between groups were small (2 to 3 points). There was no gain in measurement precision from IRT scoring. The CTM-3 was not significantly lower for patients reporting rehospitalization or emergency department visits.

Conclusion: We identified psychometric challenges of the CTM, which may limit its value in research and practice. These results are in line with emerging evidence of gaps in the validity of the measure.

Keywords: IRT scoring; acute coronary syndromes; care transitions measure; validity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

**Figure 1.**
Scatter plot of CTM‐15 sum scores and CTM‐15 IRT scores (r=0.98). IRT, item response theory.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Cited by

Connect-Home transitional care from skilled nursing facilities to home: A stepped wedge, cluster randomized trial.
Toles M, Preisser JS, Colón-Emeric C, Naylor MD, Weinberger M, Zhang Y, Hanson LC. Toles M, et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023 Apr;71(4):1068-1080. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18218. Epub 2023 Jan 10. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023. PMID: 36625769 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
Perceived discharge quality and associations with hospital readmissions and emergency department use: a prospective cohort study.
Perera T, Grewal E, Ghali WA, Tang KL. Perera T, et al. BMJ Open Qual. 2022 Nov;11(4):e001875. doi: 10.1136/bmjoq-2022-001875. BMJ Open Qual. 2022. PMID: 36375857 Free PMC article.
Opening Pandora's Box: From Readmissions to Transitional Care Patient-Centered Outcome Measures.
Reeves MJ, Fritz MC, Osunkwo I, Grudzen CR, Hsu LL, Li J, Lawrence RH, Bettger JP. Reeves MJ, et al. Med Care. 2021 Aug 1;59(Suppl 4):S336-S343. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001592. Med Care. 2021. PMID: 34228015 Free PMC article. Review.
Pediatric Education Discharge Support Strategies for Newly Diagnosed Children With Cancer.
Hockenberry M, Haugen M, Slaven A, Skeens M, Patton L, Montgomery K, Trimble K, Coyne K, Hancock D, Ahmad A, Daut E, Glover L, Brown L, St Pierre S, Shay A, Maloney J, Burke M, Hatch D, Arthur M. Hockenberry M, et al. Cancer Nurs. 2021 Nov-Dec 01;44(6):E520-E530. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000947. Cancer Nurs. 2021. PMID: 33813530 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
Learning Integrated Health System to Mobilize Context-Adapted Knowledge With a Wiki Platform to Improve the Transitions of Frail Seniors From Hospitals and Emergency Departments to the Community (LEARNING WISDOM): Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Implementation Study.
Archambault PM, Rivard J, Smith PY, Sinha S, Morin M, LeBlanc A, Couturier Y, Pelletier I, Ghandour EK, Légaré F, Denis JL, Melady D, Paré D, Chouinard J, Kroon C, Huot-Lavoie M, Bert L, Witteman HO, Brousseau AA, Dallaire C, Sirois MJ, Émond M, Fleet R, Chandavong S; Network Of Canadian Emergency Researchers. Archambault PM, et al. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Aug 5;9(8):e17363. doi: 10.2196/17363. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020. PMID: 32755891 Free PMC article.

See all "Cited by" articles

References

1. Anderson G. Chronic Care: Making the Case for Ongoing Care. 2010Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
1. Coleman EA, Smith JD, Frank JC, Eilertsen TB, Thiare JN, Kramer AM. Development and testing of a measure designed to assess the quality of care transitions. Int J Integr Care. 2002; 2:e02. - PMC - PubMed
1. Coleman EA, Mahoney E, Parry C. Assessing the quality of preparation for posthospital care from the patient's perspective: the care transitions measure. Med Care. 2005; 43:246-255. - PubMed
1. Parry C, Mahoney E, Chalmers SA, Coleman EA. Assessing the quality of transitional care: further applications of the care transitions measure. Med Care. 2008; 46:317-322. - PubMed
1. Petersen MA, Groenvold M, Aaronson N, Brenne E, Fayers P, Nielsen JD, Sprangers M, Bjorner JB. European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group. Scoring based on item response theory did not alter the measurement ability of EORTC QLQ‐C30 scales. J Clin Epidemiol. 2005; 58:902-908. - PubMed

Publication types

Actions
Actions
Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
- scite Smart Citations
Research Materials
- NCI CPTC Antibody Characterization Program

[1] Anderson G. Chronic Care: Making the Case for Ongoing Care. 2010Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

[2] Anderson G. Chronic Care: Making the Case for Ongoing Care. 2010Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

[3] Coleman EA, Smith JD, Frank JC, Eilertsen TB, Thiare JN, Kramer AM. Development and testing of a measure designed to assess the quality of care transitions. Int J Integr Care. 2002; 2:e02. - PMC - PubMed

[4] Coleman EA, Smith JD, Frank JC, Eilertsen TB, Thiare JN, Kramer AM. Development and testing of a measure designed to assess the quality of care transitions. Int J Integr Care. 2002; 2:e02. - PMC - PubMed

[5] Coleman EA, Mahoney E, Parry C. Assessing the quality of preparation for posthospital care from the patient's perspective: the care transitions measure. Med Care. 2005; 43:246-255. - PubMed

[6] Coleman EA, Mahoney E, Parry C. Assessing the quality of preparation for posthospital care from the patient's perspective: the care transitions measure. Med Care. 2005; 43:246-255. - PubMed

[7] Parry C, Mahoney E, Chalmers SA, Coleman EA. Assessing the quality of transitional care: further applications of the care transitions measure. Med Care. 2008; 46:317-322. - PubMed

[8] Parry C, Mahoney E, Chalmers SA, Coleman EA. Assessing the quality of transitional care: further applications of the care transitions measure. Med Care. 2008; 46:317-322. - PubMed

[9] Petersen MA, Groenvold M, Aaronson N, Brenne E, Fayers P, Nielsen JD, Sprangers M, Bjorner JB. European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group. Scoring based on item response theory did not alter the measurement ability of EORTC QLQ‐C30 scales. J Clin Epidemiol. 2005; 58:902-908. - PubMed

[10] Petersen MA, Groenvold M, Aaronson N, Brenne E, Fayers P, Nielsen JD, Sprangers M, Bjorner JB. European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group. Scoring based on item response theory did not alter the measurement ability of EORTC QLQ‐C30 scales. J Clin Epidemiol. 2005; 58:902-908. - PubMed

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Psychometric evaluation of the Care Transition Measure in TRACE-CORE: do we need a better measure?

Affiliations

Psychometric evaluation of the Care Transition Measure in TRACE-CORE: do we need a better measure?

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

Similar articles

Cited by

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Research Materials