QUOTE-HIV: an instrument for assessing quality of HIV care from the patients' perspective.

BACKGROUND An HIV-specific version of the QUOTE questionnaire was developed to measure the quality of care of patients infected with HIV from the patients' perspective. The consistency and validity of the questionnaire was assessed. METHODS Focus group discussions were held to select aspects for inclusion in the questionnaire that are important to patients with HIV. Item and inter-item analysis, factor analysis, and reliability analysis were performed to test the internal consistency and validity of the questionnaire. RESULTS Twenty seven items (13 generic and 14 HIV specific) were used in the QUOTE-HIV questionnaire. Separate factor analyses of the generic and HIV specific aspects indicated that each loaded onto a single factor. The internal consistency of the total questionnaire was good (Cronbach's alpha >/=0.80). Feasibility of the questionnaire was shown by the diversity of importance and performance scores for general practitioners as well as for HIV specialists and AIDS nursing consultants. CONCLUSION The QUOTE-HIV questionnaire is a useful instrument for measuring the quality of care from the perspective of HIV infected patients.