Danish hospitals get first tool to measure what patients expect from surgery
Researchers have translated and validated a questionnaire that measures patient expectations before spinal surgery—a finding that matters because what patients expect significantly shapes their actual health outcomes. The tool could help hospitals better prepare patients and improve satisfaction and recovery rates across Scandinavia.
Originaltitel: Translation and initial psychometric evaluation of the Danish version of the treatment expectation questionnaire (TEX-Q)
Dansk version av TEX-Q gör det möjligt för sjukhus och privata vårdgivare att mäta patientförväntningar före ryggoperationer — en faktor som påverkar behandlingsresultat och därmed kostnadseffektiviteten. Instrumentet översattes enligt internationella standarder och testades på patienter inför ryggsurgeri vid danska universitetssjukhus. Resultaten visar god förståelighet och tillförlitlighet för de flesta domäner, även om precision varierar mellan dimensioner. Golv- och takeffekter var acceptabla. Konstruktvaliditeten var dock begränsad — TEX-Q-värden korrelerade svagt med funktionell nedsättning och hade endast liten positiv koppling till livskvalitet. Studien utfördes av Lund University tillsammans med danske sjukhus och Köpenhamns Universitet. Instrumentet kan användas kliniskt, men användare bör tolka domänspecifika resultat försiktigt tills ytterligare validering genomförts.
Abstract Background Patient expectations are important psychological determinants of health outcomes. The Treatment Expectation Questionnaire (TEX-Q) is a validated, multidimensional instrument for assessing treatment expectations; however, no Danish version has previously been available. This study aimed to translate and conduct an initial psychometric evaluation of a Danish version of the TEX-Q in patients undergoing spinal surgery. Methods The TEX-Q was translated using a structured forward–backward procedure in accordance with ISPOR guidelines, including expert review by clinicians from different professional backgrounds. Consecutive adult patients scheduled for spinal surgery at a university hospital were invited to participate. The initial psychometric evaluation followed established PROM reporting standards and included assessment of feasibility, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, floor and ceiling effects, and construct validity. Results The Danish TEX-Q demonstrated high comprehensibility and linguistic clarity, with mean item ratings ranging from 5.4 to 5.8 on a six-point Likert scale. Reliability varied across domains, with good internal consistency and test–retest reliability observed for most domains. Floor effects were negligible, while ceiling effects exceeded 15% in selected domains. Construct validity analyses showed no association between the TEX-Q total score and functional disability, while only limited domain-specific associations were observed, and a small but statistically significant positive association with quality of life. Conclusion The Danish version of TEX-Q was successfully translated and demonstrated promising initial psychometric properties in a population of patients undergoing spinal surgery. However, variability in reliability across domains warrants cautious interpretation of domain-level results. Further studies are needed to assess structural validity and confirm the psychometric properties of the instrument in larger and more diverse clinical populations.