PROM-OPAC: validation (v1.2)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Testing and validation of a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for Older People with frailty and Acute Care needs (PROM-OPAC)
IRAS ID
293473
Contact name
Timothy Coats
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 31 days
Research summary
RESEARCH SUMMARY:
Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) collect quality and effectiveness data from the perspective of patients themselves. There is no validated PROM for use by older people living with frailty and having acute care needs. Instead, currently quality and effectiveness of emergency and acute care in the NHS is reported using automated service metrics such as department length of stay.Our research group is working to define a framework of acute healthcare outcome goals reported by older people living with frailty in a current systematic review and confirmatory interview study. We are assimilating previously validated instrument items (questions) from existing quality of life questionnaires and iteratively developing these to produce a new PROM for older people with frailty and acute care needs.
In this project, we propose field-testing the new PROM among a cohort of 150 older patients receiving acute care, in order to inform iterative improvements. Next, we propose further testing the re-drafted PROM among a validation cohort of 150 patients receiving acute care in different hospitals, in order to determine the psychometric properties of the instrument and also to compare patient-reported data to existing quality metrics. Finally, we propose interviewing a small follow-up sample of patients (15) and professionals (15) about experiences and healthcare impact of using the PROM.
LAY SUMMARY OF STUDY RESULTS:
People are directed through their acute care using processes. This works well for single and simple problems. However, older people living with frailty have multiple and complex problems. They require person-centred care for their individual needs.Acute care quality is measured with waiting times and admission rates. These suit process-based care but not person-centred care. A Patient-Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) could be used instead. PROMs are questionnaires about individual problems. This research made a PROM for Older People living with frailty receiving Acute Care (the ‘PROM-OPAC’).
Patients were asked about the outcomes they wanted from acute care. Some needed physical and mental function. Others included health information and feeling safe. Questions to measure these were written with patients. The questionnaire was given to older people living with frailty receiving acute care.
Some 350 patients were involved with testing. The PROM-OPAC measured what older people wanted from acute care. The eight questions have been recommended for use by NHS acute care services. Further research will ask how to best use it in practice.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/WM/0049
Date of REC Opinion
9 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion