Measuring shared decision-making in the pediatric outpatient setting: Psychometric performance of the SDM-Q-9 and CollaboRATE among English and Spanish speaking parents in the US Midwest

Objective

Shared decision-making (SDM) measures have never been assessed for validity and feasibility in pediatric outpatient settings. We compared psychometric performance of parent adaptations of a well-established measure (SDM-Q-9) to a newer measure focusing on provider effort in facilitating SDM (CollaboRATE) in two clinics.

Methods

English (n?=?955) and Spanish (n?=?58) speaking parents of children ages 1–5 years with symptoms of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) completed post-visit SDM-Q-9, CollaboRATE, satisfaction items (visit, provider communication, and study participation), and qualitative feedback.

Results

Parents felt CollaboRATE was more comprehensible and relevant than SDM-Q-9, which refers to decision-making actions difficult to define in ARTI visits. Among English-speakers, both measures showed high internal consistency (α?=?0.91, α?=?0.97). SDM-Q-9 reliability was strong (split-half, r?=?0.83) and CollaboRATE weak-to-moderate (two-week test-retest, ρ?=?0.41-0.66). Convergent validity with communication and visit satisfaction was poor for SDM-Q-9 (r=0.38, r=0.34) but higher for CollaboRATE (r=0.59, r?=?0.52). Both showed divergent validity with study participation satisfaction (r=0.08, r=0.13). Spanish versions demonstrated similar results.

Conclusions

Parent preference and correlations with satisfaction support CollaboRATE over SDM-Q-9, however psychometrics were borderline acceptable.

Practice Implications

Tools like CollaboRATE that focus on provider effort appear more appropriate for routine pediatric visits where SDM outcomes may be difficult to identify, yet additional validation research is needed.