Validating use of a symptom assessment scale in palliative care using an argument-based approach
Item
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Title
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Validating use of a symptom assessment scale in palliative care using an argument-based approach
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:0478fc4e211e:11069
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identifier
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11342
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Creator
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Livote, Elayne E.,
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Contributor
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Jay Verkuilen
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Quantitative psychology | bifactor model | measurement invariance | symptom assessment | validation | validy
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Abstract
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Validation of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) scales has not kept up with contemporary views on validity and validation. For example, validity is not considered to be a binary state and it is the proposed use or interpretation of scale scores that is validated, not the scale itself. In this dissertation, I attempted to validate the use of a symptom assessment scale in a Veterans Affairs (VA)-based palliative care program to measure program outcomes using an argument-based approach to validity. In the first step of this approach, I developed the interpretive argument which specifies the claims and assumptions that are inherent in the proposed use. I then conducted three investigations to generate supporting evidence for the claims. The first was a basic psychometric analysis, the second was an assessment of measurement invariance, and the third was an examination of item directionality. In the validity evaluation, I assessed the plausibility of the claims incorporating the results of the investigations. I found that a bifactor model provided good fit to the data and concluded that while the psychometric properties of the scale were fairly well maintained in this new use, the degree of missing data may be biasing outcomes and also prohibits use of the scale to measure outcomes. I also concluded that it may be more appropriate to treat some of the items of the scale as formative and this new formulation may help promote complete administration of the scale.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Educational Psychology
