Validation of an Oncology-specific Instrument to Measure Care Coordination

We will assess focus group initial perceptions of the care coordination instrument (CCI) as measured by the participants' Likert scale responses to the instruments' questionnaire items. These 27 survey items are used to assess three domains of care coordination. These domains include patient/physician communications, operations and navigation.

Additionally, the taped narratives and comments of participants provided during the focus group discussions are used to identify and analyze sources of response error in the questionnaire by identifying the cognitive processes respondents use to answer the survey questions. Specifically, whether subjects understand the survey items as intended by the research team.

Secondary outcome measures are cancer patients' perceptions of CC as measured by the CCI. The current proposed CCI contains 27 multiple-choice questions and measures cancer patients' perceptions of four areas of coordination (patient-physician; between health providers; during inpatient-to-ambulatory care transitions; during transitions across different phases of care) that cover three critical domains of CC (Communication, Operational, Navigation).

Reporting of study results will follow guidelines for qualitative research outlined in the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement and Standard for reporting qualitative research (O'Brien, 2014). The criteria for interviews and focus groups, COREQ, will be followed (Tong et al., 2007). Reported data will include characteristics of the research team and details outlining the theoretical framework, participant selection, setting of the research, and procedures for data collection.