Psychometrics of the scale of attitudes toward physician–pharmacist collaboration: A study with medical students

Abstract

Background: Despite the emphasis placed on interdisciplinary education and interprofessional collaboration between physicians and pharmacologists, no psychometrically sound instrument is available to measure attitudes toward collaborative relationships. Aim: This study was designed to examine psychometrics of an instrument for measuring attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaborative relationships for administration to students in medical and pharmacy schools and to physicians and pharmacists. Methods: The Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration was completed by 210 students at Jefferson Medical College. Factor analysis and correlational methods were used to examine psychometrics of the instrument. Results: Consistent with the conceptual framework of interprofessional collaboration, three underlying constructs, namely ''responsibility and accountability;'' ''shared authority;'' and ''interdisciplinary education'' emerged from the factor analysis of the instrument providing support for its construct validity. The reliability coefficient alpha for the instrument was 0.90. The instrument's criterion-related validity coefficient with scores of a validated instrument (Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration) was 0.70. Conclusions: Findings provide support for the validity and reliability of the instrument for medical students. The instrument has the potential to be used for the evaluation of interdisciplinary education in medical and pharmacy schools, and for the evaluation of patient outcomes resulting from collaborative physician-pharmacist relationships.

Critical Thinking and Reflection Exercises in a Biochemistry Course to Improve Prospective Health Professions Students’ Attitudes Toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration

“…17,19,20 Ultimately, 3 reliable factors emerged for the instrument: responsibility and accountability, shared authority, and interprofessional education. [16][17][18] These authors and VanWinkle and colleagues later validated this instrument. 17,18 At Midwestern University, we used the instrument to show that even a single workshop exercise to foster understanding between medical and pharmacy students led to a small improvement in their physician-pharmacist collaboration scores.…”

“…17,18 These characteristics included accountability, communication, education, and shared decisions and responsibilities. 17,19,20 Ultimately, 3 reliable factors emerged for the instrument: responsibility and accountability, shared authority, and interprofessional education.…”

Development and Validation of the Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE) Instrument

“…Although the validated SATP 2 C was not documented in the ACCP report, items from this instrument were used in developing the SPICE instrument. 19,20 While SPICE, the SATP 2 C, and the scales referenced in the 2009 ACCP report measure student perceptions regarding interprofessional education, there are important differences. SPICE is comprised of 3 subscales and 10 items, with each item allowing a 5-point response (ie, strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree).…”

“…21,29 The SATP 2 C is comprised of 3 subscales (Responsibility & Accountability, Shared Authority, Interdisciplinary Education) and sixteen 4-point items. 19,20 Because each instrument can be used to measure students' perceptions regarding interprofessional education, there may be some overlap among the instruments. Although each of the instruments can be useful in a variety of settings, SPICE differs from the others in that it has a unique subscale that deals explicitly with perceptions regarding the association of team-based healthcare delivery with patient outcomes.…”

“…17 To provide evidence of the impact of interprofessional education within healthcare disciplines, there have been efforts to produce, validate, and use measurement scales. [18][19][20][21] Specific instruments include the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), 18,21 the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS), 21 the Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCTS), 21 and the Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration (SATP 2 C). 19,20 Since the reliability and validity of measurement instruments are contextually constrained, further development, refinement, and validation of measurement scales are warranted.…”