Developing and exploring the validity of a patient reported experience measure for adult inpatient diabetes care

In England and Wales, approximately 18% of inpatients present with diabetes. Of these, only 8% are admitted for a reason directly related to their diabetes.  Individuals with diabetes often encounter  complications during their hospital stay, including severe hypoglycemia and medication errors, highlighting the need for enhanced inpatient care. 

Collaborating with Oxford Brookes University, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of Oxford, Picker participated in developing the Inpatient Diabetes Care (IDC) Patient Reported Experience Measure (PREM). This instrument aimed to capture patient perspectives on diabetes care quality during an inpatient stay (for any reason), aligning with the principles of person centred care and patient safety. 

PREMs offer insights into patients’ care experiences, focusing on crucial aspects like involvement in decisions, communication, and trust in healthcare staff. Although there was an existing National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA) patient experience questionnaire, the questions were limited. This prompted the development of a more comprehensive tool to evaluate person centred care in diabetes management during hospitalisation. 

This study’s objective was to create and assess the validity of a new PREM for adult inpatient diabetes care. This was achieved by conducting 27 in-depth interviews, cognitive testing of the draft PREM with 10 patients, and completion of a pilot survey completed by 228 respondents.   

Results indicated low drop-out rates and missing data, and showed that this new PREM can appropriately measure inpatient diabetes care to help identify areas for improving care quality