Patients' Perceptions of Individualized Care: Evaluating Psychometric Properties and Results of the Individualized Care Scale

Abstract

Health-care organizations aim to provide patient-centred care, yet measurement of this aspect of care quality remains a challenge. This cross-sectional study investigated the reliability and validity of the bipartite Individualized Care Scale (ICS-A, ICS-B) in a Canadian hip and knee arthroplasty population. Internal consistency of the ICS-A and ICS-B was high; however, factorial validity was not fully supported. Twenty-five percent of participants provided additional open-ended comments to describe individual perceptions, needs, and suggestions, noting that the Likert-scale approach required them to aggregate their feedback about rather than share their perceptions of individual nurses. The findings indicate that it is important to patients to be able to share their individual stories when evaluating nursing care. Future qualitative studies should examine the nurse perspective on the provision of patient-centred care, including investigation of systems and process-related features that foster or hinder more individualized care.