Psychometric evaluation of the Dutch version of the patient-reported experience measure for addiction treatment (PREMAT-NL): Psychometric evaluation of the PREMAT-NL

Introduction: Patient-centred care has become increasingly important in health
care. Patient-reported experience measures (PREM) are used to measure patient
experiences in health care, but the availability of psychometrically validated
PREMs is limited. The Patient Reported Experience Measure in Addiction Treatment
(PREMAT) is a PREM developed with extensive service user input to assess
the experiences of people in residential addiction treatment services. In this study
we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch translation of the
PREMAT, the PREMAT-NL.
Methods: Ninety-three participants completed the PREMAT-NL approximately
45 days after starting addiction treatment as part of a naturalistic prospective
multi-centre study in Belgium. We examined the factorial structure using principal
component analysis with Promax oblique rotation and assessed the internal
consistencies of the subscales and total score using Cronbach’s α. Additionally, we
explored the relationship of PREMAT-NL scores with demographic and clinical
variables.
Results: The PREMAT-NL had a four-factor structure, with good internal consistencies
of the subscales (Cronbach’s α >0.70) and excellent internal consistency of
the total score (Cronbach’s α = 0.94). The PREMAT-NL total score was negatively
skewed, and four score categories were proposed based on z-scores. PREMAT-NL
scores correlated weakly with the type of treatment centre (r = 0.21, p < 0.05)
and with previously received treatment for addiction (r =  0.25, p < 0.05).
Discussion and Conclusions: Although the factor structure and thus the appropriate
use of subscales need further investigation, the findings of this study support
the use of the PREMAT-NL total score as a valid and reliable PREM to
evaluate residential addiction treatment services.