發展障礙兒童早期療育參與度問卷之發展

Background and purpose: Engagement in early intervention must be objectively and routinely measured in children with developmental disabilities (DD) and their caregivers. However, no such measure has been developed. This study aimed to (1) develop the Early Intervention Engagement Questionnaire (EIEQ) by referencing the Hopkins Rehabilitation Engagement Rating Scale (HRERS), and (2) examine the reliability and validity of the EIEQ. Methods: This study consisted of two phases. In the item development and content validation phase, we translated the HRERS into Chinese as the reference to develop the caregiver and therapist versions of the EIEQ based on the current status of early intervention in Taiwan. We examined the content validity through expert consultation. In the reliability and validity examination phase, we recruited the caregivers and therapists of 156 children with DD to fill out the EIEQ. We examined the internal consistency and construct validity respectively with Cronbach’s α and Rasch analysis. Results: The EIEQ was expanded from 5 to 7 items based on the experts’ suggestions, and the second item was deleted after the psychometrics examination. The internal consistencies of the two versions respectively increased from 0.77 and 0.78 to 0.83. The remaining items fitted the hypotheses of the Rasch model (1.4＞infit, outfit mean square＞0.6). The final EIEQ contained 6 items. Conclusion: The EIEQ quickly and accurately assessed engagement in early intervention in children with DD and their caregivers, considering both the caregiver's and therapist's perspectives. The EIEQ can be applied in early intervention facilities and used as an indicator of the effectiveness of early intervention.