Exploring what patients think when answering the Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (ISQ) following a hospital pharmacist consultation: A ‘think-aloud’ study

Al-Jabr, H.; Twigg, M.J.; Saadvandi, R.A.; Desborough, J.A.

Abstract

Background: The Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (ISQ) was developed to collect patient feedback on consultation skills of practitioners. However, it has not yet been evaluated with pharmacists. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use cognitive interviewing to explore the thinking process of patients as they completed the ISQ following a pharmacist consultation.

Methods: A qualitative think-aloud (TA) research methodology combined with retrospective probing was used to uncover the thinking process of patients as they completed the ISQ following a pharmacy consultation. The study was conducted between October-December 2017 in secondary care with outpatients ≥ 18 years old in Norfolk, England. Interviews were carried out in rounds and were informally analysed (i.e. by writing notes while listening to recordings instead of verbatim transcription and analysis) to identify major problems encountered while completing the questionnaire. Discussions were held between researchers to decide whether changes were needed based on patients’ comments. The study received ethical approval by the NHS Health Research Authority.

Results: Eight patients in total (4 males and 4 females) were included in this study (mean age: 48 years). Three rounds of TA were conducted (4 in the first, and 2 in the second and third rounds). Most items of the ISQ were interpreted similarly by all respondents, and were not associated with difficulties with respect to its wording, understanding, or its relevance to pharmacy consultations. Most respondents showed a logical sequence of their thinking process as they answered the ISQ and did not reflect any major difficulty that required refining the ISQ with reference to pharmacist consultations.

Conclusions: Modification of the ISQ was unnecessary as cognitive interviews conducted demonstrated the lack of major problems with its use in relation to hospital pharmacy consultations. The ISQ is thus a potentially suitable tool to collect patient feedback on pharmacist consultations.

Citation

Al-Jabr, H., Twigg, M., Saadvandi, R., & Desborough, J. (2018). Exploring what patients think when answering the Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (ISQ) following a hospital pharmacist consultation: A ‘think-aloud’ study. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 14(8), e47-e48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.05.097

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jul 19, 2018
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Deposit Date: Nov 14, 2023
• Journal: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
• Print ISSN: 1551-7411
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 8
• Pages: e47-e48
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.05.097
• Keywords: Pharmaceutical Science; Pharmacy