Development of the continuous quality improvement questionnaire (CQIQ)

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Medical Education
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Hospitals increasingly use continuous quality improvement (CQI) to enhance patient care.
• Physician engagement is crucial for the success of CQI initiatives.
• Understanding factors influencing physician participation is key to maximizing involvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an instrument measuring physicians' knowledge of and attitudes toward CQI.
• To assess psychologic and environmental mediators affecting physician participation in quality initiatives.

Main Methods:

• Items for the questionnaire were derived from interviews and literature review.
• The study involved interviews, a survey of 64 physicians, and test-retest reliability assessment with 9 physicians.
• Reliability and validity were the primary outcomes measured.

Main Results:

• The developed Continuous Quality Improvement Questionnaire (CQIQ) demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >.70).
• Item-total correlations were generally strong, with good test-retest reliability (r=0.85, P=.02).
• A response rate of 76% was achieved for the survey.

Conclusions:

• The CQIQ exhibits reasonable measurement properties for assessing physician knowledge and attitudes toward CQI.
• Complex interactions between psychological and environmental factors influence physician participation in quality initiatives.
• Findings are likely generalizable to physicians in academic settings; further validation in diverse institutions is recommended.