Harman Dhatt, Srujitha Marupuru, Terri L Warholak
Abstract
Background: Telephonic medication management centers (MMCs) provide medication therapy management services to help alleviate medication-related issues and improve health outcomes. Motivation factors driving the performance of MMC personnel are key components in achieving these goals. Yet, published literature is limited on how motivation affects MMC personnel performance.
Objective: To assess validity and reliability of the employee motivation questionnaire (EMQ), a 19-item measure of barriers and facilitators to motivation associated with MMC employees’ work performance.
Methods: Pharmacist, nurse, pharmacy technician, and intern employees (N = 534) from 5 telephonic-based U.S. MMCs were invited to complete the electronic EMQ. Rasch analysis was conducted in Winsteps software using a rating scale model. Construct and content validity and reliability were analyzed with employee and item separation index (SI) and reliability coefficient (RC). Linear regression was conducted to test the association of employee characteristics with individual work performance motivation.
Results: A total of 319 employees completed the EMQ, 59.7% response rate. Principal components analysis suggested a unidimensional construct. Employee and item infit and outfit mean squared values met recommended fit criteria (0.5-1.5), suggesting that the data fit the model. An item-person map identified items that were easiest (joy of helping patients) and most difficult (motivated to work harder if incentives were tied to goal achievements) to agree with. Mismatch of employee motivation and item difficulty level on the measurement continuum (-1 to 0.92 logits) indicated a need for additional items that employees perceive as more difficult to agree with. The employee RC was 0.81 and the SI was 2.04; whereas, the item RC was 0.97 and the SI was 5.94. None of the variables tested illustrated statistically significant associations with the person motivation measure.
Conclusions: The EMQ illustrated reasonable content validity, good construct validity, and reliability evidence when used to measure motivation factors among MMC employees. Consideration of employee motivation factors may help to better meet MMC program goals and improve patient outcomes.
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