Readiness to change for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare: Development and validation of a theory-based instrument

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a study that aimed to develop and validate a theory-based instrument for the assessment of readiness to change for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare (IPC-TTM). The instrument was developed in the Persian language and tested in the Iranian context. Healthcare professionals from medical and nursing professions participated in the assessment of validity and reliability of the instrument. We conducted this psychometric study in two phases: First, the questionnaire was developed based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) through literature review and expert panel. Then, in the validation phase, we held three modified Delphi rounds to assess the content and face validity of the questionnaire. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the fit of the questionnaire as applied to modified TTM. Reliability of the final instrument was tested by assessing the test-retest reliability of instrument items with Kappa coefficient. We also calculated the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha to assess the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the instrument sub-scales. The initial item pool consisted of 30 items and three sub-scales (Attitude, Intention, and Action). The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed with 17 items. Based on the CFA results two additional items were deleted to increase the fit of the model. The final instrument was confirmed with 15 items and three sub-scales. Reliability assessment on the 15-item instrument showed an acceptable test-retest reliability of the instrument items. ICC values for the Attitude, Intention, and Action sub-scales of the instrument were calculated as 0.82, 0.73, and 0.71, respectively. Moreover, Cronbach’s alpha for the Attitude, Intention, and Action sub-scales were 0.85, 0.73, and 0.77, respectively. This study offers a new theory-based instrument to measure readiness to change for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare in the Iranian context. The questionnaire can be used for ‘needs assessment’ in developing tailored educational interventions and self-assessments in interprofessional education studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Interprofessional collaboration
• readiness to change
• stages of change
• theory-based instrument
• transtheoretical model

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the participants in this study. Special thanks goes to Professor Philip G. Clark at the University of Rhode Island for his guidance and participation in the study. We would also like to thank Professor Mahmoud Tavousi at Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research (ACECR) and Professor Marzieh Araban at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, for their very helpful comments.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the writing and content of this article.