Abstract
In this chapter, Bragstad and Foss highlight key methodological challenges and lessons learned when studying complex care transitions from a quantitative perspective. Key challenges with regard to designing and planning the study, developing survey instruments and conducting survey research on transitional care is emphasized. The research examples used throughout this chapter are predominantly linked to a study exploring older patients’ and their next of kin’s experiences with transition from hospital to municipal care. The methodological challenges are, however, applicable to a wider context.
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Notes
- 1.
In Norway, every hospital uses the same questionnaire to measure patient experiences, and this is published on a website, where patient satisfaction is used as one of several quality indicators patients can use for selecting hospitals.
- 2.
Patients discharged from hospital to home without home care is of course also an interesting group, but as the focus of the study was on transitions between different levels of care, this group was outside the focus of our study.
- 3.
This was later tested with a sample from the study population as described under the piloting of the questionnaire.
- 4.
A good Guttman scale should have a coefficient of reproducibility (the percentage of original responses that could be reproduced by knowing the scale scores used to summarize them) above 0.85.
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Bragstad, L.K., Foss, C. (2017). Studying Complex Care Transitions from a Quantitative Perspective. In: Aase, K., Waring, J., Schibevaag, L. (eds) Researching Quality in Care Transitions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62346-7_3
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