Psychosocial care after stroke: stroke specific Patient Concerns Inventory (sPCI)

In the Netherlands every year a large number of people suffer a stroke and have to deal with the consequences of this. After stroke, patients often experience various concerns, due to the consequences of the stroke. These concerns can lead to psychosocial problems, which can have a negative effect on stroke rehabilitation. An efficient way to address patients’ concerns could be to ask patients to fill in a written or online form to list their concerns prior to the consult, such as the Patient Concerns Inventory (PCI). Although in the UK a stroke specific version of the PCI (sPCI) has been developed, it is not known whether this sPCI is applicable for the Dutch context of stroke care.

To determine the content validity and clinical utility of the Dutch sPCI according to nurses with expertise in stroke care and stroke patients, respectively.

This observational study is a qualitative study.
To determine the content validity of the Dutch sPCI, nurses with expertise in stroke care were asked to fill in an questionnaire in which they were asked to indicate for each item on the sPCI whether or not it is relevant to determine patients’ concerns after stroke. Items on which no agreement is achieved in the questionnaire, were discussed in a focus group interview. Based on the findings of the questionnaire and the focus group interview, the sPCI was adapted. A selection of nurses was asked to complete a second questionnaire about the relevance of each item.
To determine the clinical utility, stroke patients were asked to complete a survey about the appropriateness, practicability and acceptability of the Dutch sPCI.

No interventions