Psychometrics of the computer-based Relationships with Health Care Provider Scale in older adults

The type and quality of the provider-patient health care relationship impacts patient adherence. The study purpose was to convert the 5-item paper and pencil Relationships With Health Care Provider Scale (RHCPS) to a reliable and valid computer-based scale for use with older adults. Outpatient adults (N = 121) older than 59 years were recruited. The RHCPS underwent several iterations documenting internal consistency reliability, content and factorial validity, and scale usability in a computer tablet format. A total of 5 expert judges rated all 5 items as valid, which resulted in a scale content validity index of 1. Cronbach's standardized alpha was .81. Principal components analysis extracted 1 factor (eigenvalue > 1; confirmed by scree plot) as anticipated. Computer-based RHCPS has the potential to reveal valuable clinical and scientific data on patient-provider relationships among older adults.