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Development and initial testing of the Person-centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2009

David Edvardsson*
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care (ACEBAC), La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Deirdre Fetherstonhaugh
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care (ACEBAC), La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Rhonda Nay
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care (ACEBAC), La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Stephen Gibson
Affiliation:
National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Victoria, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: David Edvardsson, Department of Nursing, Umea University, S-901 87 Umea, Sweden. Phone: +46 90 786 91 43; Fax: +46 90 786 91 69. Email: david.edvardsson@nurs.umu.se.

Abstract

Background: Person-centered care is increasingly regarded as being synonymous with best quality care. However, the concept and its precise meaning is a subject of debate and reliable and valid measurement tools are lacking.

Method: This article describes the development and initial testing of a new self-report assessment scale, the Person-centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT), which measures the extent to which long-term aged care staff rate their settings to be person-centered. A preliminary 39-item tool generated from research literature, expert consultations and research interviews with aged care staff (n = 37), people with early onset dementia (n = 11), and family members (n = 19) was distributed to a sample of Australian aged care staff (n = 220) and subjected to item analysis and reduction.

Results: Psychometric evaluation of the final 13-item tool was conducted using statistical estimates of validity and reliability. The results showed that the P-CAT was shown to be valid and homogeneous by factor, item and content analyses. Cronbach's α was satisfactory for the total scale (0.84), and the three subscales had values of 0.81, 0.77, and 0.31 respectively. Test–retest reliability were evaluated (n = 26) and all analyses indicated satisfactory estimates.

Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence in support of the psychometric properties of the P-CAT when used in an Australian sample of long-term aged care staff. The tool contributes to the literature by making it possible to study person-centered care in relation to health outcomes, organizational models, characteristics and levels of staffing, degrees of care needs among residents, and impact of interventions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2009

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