Development of a set of indicators for the quality of chronic pain management in Chinese community-dwelling older adults: a Delphi study

Abstract Background Standardized and systematic quality assessments of chronic pain management, particularly among older adult populations, are lacking in resource-limited community settings. A specific set of indicators to evaluate the quality of chronic pain management in this population has yet to be developed. Therefore, the present study constructed a set of indicators to assess the quality of chronic pain management in Chinese community-dwelling older adults, providing a standardized reference and guidance for community health centers to manage chronic pain in this population. Methods The indicator set was developed in three steps. Step 1 involved preparation by forming a research team and establishing the guiding theory. Step 2 included developing an expert inquiry questionnaire based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews. Step 3 completed the construction of the indicator set through the Delphi method and hierarchical analysis to quantify the relative importance of each indicator and ensure the development of a scientifically validated and practically applicable evaluation model. Results The final set of indicators for evaluating the quality of chronic pain management among community-dwelling older adults in China comprised three primary indicators: structural quality indicator, process quality indicator, and outcome quality indicator. Structural quality indicators included 3 secondary and 11 tertiary indicators; process quality indicators included 4 secondary and 21 tertiary indicators; and outcome quality indicators included 2 secondary and 4 tertiary indicators. Across two rounds of questionnaires, the response rate was 100%, with expert authority coefficients of 0.924 and 0.938, coefficients of variation ranging from 0 to 0.32 and 0 to 0.20, and Kendall’s concordance coefficients of 0.302 and 0.220, respectively. Hierarchical analysis showed that the consistency ratios of all indicators were