Interpreting the psychometric properties of the components of primary care instrument in an elderly population

OBJECTIVE: To determine the psychometric properties of the Components of Primary Care Instrument (CPCI) in a patient population aged 65 or older. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 795 participants in the OKLAHOMA Studies, a longitudinal population-based study of predominantly Caucasian, elderly patients, completed the CPCI. Reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were done to provide psychometric properties for this elderly sample. Models were constructed and tested to determine the best fit for the data including the addition of a method factor for negatively worded items. RESULTS: Cronbach's alphas were comparable to values reported in prior studies. The confirmatory factor analysis with factor inter-correlations and a method factor each improved the fit of the factor model to the data. The combined model's fit approached the level conventionally recognized as adequate. CONCLUSION: CPCI appears to be a reliable tool for describing patient perceptions of the quality of primary care for patients over age 65.