Developing a measure to assess the quality of care transitions for older people

Background: The transition of older patients (over 65 years of age) from hospital to their own home is a time when patients are at high risk. No measure currently exists to assess the experience, quality and safety of care transitions relevant to UK population. We aim to describe the development and initial testing of the Partners at Care Transitions Measure (PACT-M) as a patient-reported questionnaire for evaluation of the quality and safety of care transitions from hospital to home in older patients. Methods: We used an established measure development procedure which includes conceptualising the components of care transitions, item development, conducting a modified Delphi process and pilot-testing of the PACT-M with patients over 65 years old using telephone administration. Results: Pilot testing of the PACT-M suggests that the components identified cover the issues of most importance to patients. Face validity testing showed that the measure in its current form is acceptable to older patients. Conclusions: The measure developed in this study shows promise for use by those involved in planning, implementing and evaluating discharge care, and could be used to inform interventions to improve the transition from hospital to home for older patients.