Validation of the kidney patient-reported experience measure in Spanish and Catalan

In recent years, interest in assessing the patient experience with healthcare has grown, given that it is a meaningful outcome of patient interactions with health services. The UK Kidney Association (UKKA) and Kidney Care UK commissioned the development of the Kidney Patient Reported Experience Measure (PREM). The aim of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the Kidney PREM in Spanish and Catalan.

The Kidney PREM questionnaire was completed by 575 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The mean (standard deviation [SD]) age was 66.3 (±14.3) years and 68.3 (±15), respectively, for each language.

The measure's internal consistency for the global score was high for both the Spanish [Cronbach's alpha = 0.93] and Catalan [Cronbach's alpha = 0.94] versions. According to response distribution, most items had median scores of 7, on a 1-7 point scale, ie the maximum score. Exceptions were items in Transport, Needling, and Parking, with interquartile ranges (IQR) of 2-7; 2-6 and 2-7, respectively. Known-group validity was confirmed across all Kidney PREM dimensions according to groups defined by overall satisfaction (P < .001). The chi-square statistic was 931.041 and the associated p-value was less than 0.001, indicating a statistically significant difference between the observed and expected covariance matrices.

Overall, the fit statistics and the goodness-of-fit indices were close to acceptable values, with comparative fit index and Tucker-Lewis Index of 0.90. Most of the loadings obtained a loading greater than 0.7, suggesting a good fit with their assigned dimensions in the original questionnaire. The Spanish version of the Kidney PREM may facilitate its wider use and support the evaluation and improvement of patient-centered care across diverse healthcare contexts.