Cognitive interview obstacles

Concurrent Cognitive Interview Protocol
Developed by Lauren Harris-Kojetin, PhD of the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in conjunction with the CAHPS R project.

Background on the Concurrent Protocol RTI developed this protocol in early 1998 to test the penultimate version 2.0 CAHPSR report template. RTI developed both an observation and a debriefing protocol (not shown) and a concurrentprobing protocol. Half of the interviews were conducted with the debriefing protocol and the other half with the concurrent protocol. The former allows better examination of navigation through materials while the latter protocol facilitates examination of comprehension of materials. RTI conducted cognitive interviews with Westat employees who had a high school education or some college education. Wetested the report template using mock CAHPS data in the template and tailoring the template to Westat employees. The concurrent protocol contains several components: • • • • • • • • Introduction and Overview of the Interview Process and Confidentiality Section-Specific Closed- and Open-Ended Interview Probes to Examine What the Participant Understands and Thinks of Each Section of the CAHPSPenultimate Report Template Interviewer-Assessed Observation of Whether and How the Participant Reads Through Each Section of the Report Template Vignettes to Examine Whether and How the Participant Uses the CAHPS Data to Make a Health Plan Choice Comprehension Questions to Measure Participants’ Ability to Understand Correctly the CAHPS Data Displays General Questions About Participants’ Likelihood toUse the Report Template and Their Perceptions of the Utility of Different Sections of the Template Participant Background Questions For Analysis Purposes Interviewer Assessments of Each Interview and Opportunities to Improve the Template and the Protocol

Each interview ran about 2 hours. In each interview, after the participant read and completed an informed consent form, the interviewer read theprotocol introduction. The interviewer then gave the participant the penultimate CAHPSR report template and asked him/her to start reading. The interview then proceeded according to the structure of the concurrent protocol.

RTI Concurrent Interview Protocol 6/9/98

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Interviewer initials: _______ Date: _________ Time begin:_________ Time end:______ Notetaker initials: __________Interview: _______ ____________________________________________________________

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CONCURRENT Introduction
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________________ Introduce yourself and notetaker: I’m [your first name] and this is [notetaker’s first name]. [Notetaker’s first name] will be taking notes to help us remember what we cover. [Hand consentform and explain purpose]. What the interview is about: Today I’m going to show you a booklet being developed. It’s not finished yet, but we want to get some reactions from people now, to see if we’re on the right track. Interview Process: I’ll ask you to read pages of the booklet. Please read the booklet as if you were reading it at home, at your own pace. After each page or section, I’ll ask youquestions about what you read and what you’re thinking about. When you finish a page or section, please look up at me so I know I can ask you questions. Feel free to comment or ask questions as you read. Because we have so much to cover today, I may need to move us along so that we have time to cover everything in the two hours you are here. Confidentiality: What you say will be confidential. Wewon’t connect your name with anything you say. Please say what you really think - it’s not a test: Please remember, there are no right or wrong answers . It’s not a test. You’re helping us learn how people will use the booklet and how we can improve it. We’re especially interested in anything you think might be confusing or hard for people to understand. Please use this marker as you read, to mark...