Developing a Facilitators Scale in the Context of Travel: ReTRIP

Abstract

Objective: To develop a scale for measuring factors that facilitate participation of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in travel-related activities: Removing Travel Restrictions Influencing Participation (ReTRIP). Design: A mixed-method approach where in the qualitative phase, items were developed and written based on results of interviewers with different stakeholder groups and in the quantitative phase, survey data were collected to examine the psychometric properties of the scale. Setting: Home, work, and community settings. Participants: People living with SCI, caregivers or family members, therapists, travel professionals (N=333). Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: An 11-item ReTRIP scale that measures the facilitators that enhance the travel participation of people with SCI. Results: In the qualitative phase of the study, 5 categories of travel facilitators were identified based on semistructured in-depth interviews with 83 respondents from 4 stakeholder groups. Initial items of the ReTRIP scale were written based on the travel facilitators identified. Items in the scale were then revised based on results of cognitive interviews and an expert panel review. In the quantitative phase, a total of 250 patients enrolled in a Spinal Cord Injury Model System were systematically selected to report their experience with each travel facilitator. Item-response theory–based Rasch analysis revealed that the 11-item ReTRIP has acceptable psychometric properties, containing 2 main dimensions: industry-oriented facilitators (6 items) and self-oriented facilitators (5 items). Conclusions: The 11-item ReTRIP scale demonstrates promising psychometric properties, allowing researchers and clinicians to potentially use self-reported environmental factors that are beneficial for people’s participation in travel after SCI to properly design client-centered interventions. Future studies using a larger sample are needed to validate the scale.