Validation of a “desire for information” scale

Objective — To validate a scale to measure patients' desires for information about their prescribed drugs. Methods — Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Standardised bedside interviews were conducted with general medical patients in three hospitals over an eight‐month period. The validity of the scale was explored by interfacing qualitative data from patients' perspectives and their scores to the scale. Setting — General medical wards at three teaching hospitals in London. Key findings — A total of 630 patients were recruited for interview; 50.2 per cent were male and 49.8 per cent female. The mean age for the population was 60 years. More than half (54 per cent) of the study population was retired, and the majority (82 per cent) described their cultural background as white. Through a factor analytic approach, the primary 12‐item scale was refined to six items (designated F1), measuring “extent of information desired”. A second extracted factor (designated F2) measured “inhibited desire for information”, but was not considered reliable. The responses to semi‐structured interviews gave valuable insights into the types of information sought: low‐scorers declared no need for detailed information as this would sometimes even worry or frighten them, while high‐scorers worried about not receiving enough information and requested specific details that would help them in their self care. Conclusion — Interfacing qualitative responses to semi‐structured and open questions and the quantitative scores contributed to the validation of a new six‐item scale and gave insights into the types of information patients seek. By developing a tool to identify patients' desires for information, pharmacists will be able to identify and meet the drug information needs of patients in an appropriate and timely way.