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Refining the Frommelt Attitude Toward the Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD–B) for medical students: A confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch validation study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2017

Barbara Loera ,
Giorgia Molinengo ,
Marco Miniotti  and
Paolo Leombruni
Barbara Loera
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Giorgia Molinengo
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Marco Miniotti*
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
Paolo Leombruni
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Marco Miniotti, Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 15 Via Cherasco, 10126 Turin, Italy. E-mail: marco.miniotti@unito.it.
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Abstract

Objective:

Given the increasing number of patients requiring palliative care and the need for more professionals who are able to provide care for the dying comfortably, assessment of medical attitudes toward end-of-life care is becoming a key aspect of medical education. The present study aimed to establish whether the Frommelt Attitude Toward the Care Of the Dying, Form B (FATCOD–B) meets current psychometric standards of validity for an assessment tool in medical education.

Method:

The participants were 200 undergraduate medical students. Since in a previous study the FATCOD–B was found to have a weak structure due to poor item validity, a refined version was proposed and tested in the present study. Confirmatory factor analysis and the Rasch model were employed to assess its dimensionality and psychometric properties.

Results:

The construct measured by the FATCOD–B continues to be misspecified. The tool has a two-dimensional structure. The first is well-structured and demonstrates appreciable measurement and discriminant capabilities. The second has low validity because its measurement capabilities are based on weakly correlated items.

Significance of results:

Our results suggest that the FATCOD–B measures a two-dimensional construct and that only its first dimension is a robust measurement tool for use in medical education to evaluate undergraduates' attitudes about caring for the dying.

Keywords

FATCOD–BMedical educationPalliative careConfirmatory factor analysisRasch model
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: Special Instruments – Assessment and Measure Issues in Palliative Care , February 2018 , pp. 50 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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