Reliability Generalization Study of the Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Healthcare Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Person-Centered Care (PCC) is a model focusing on the individual, not just the disease, emphasizing personalized care and empowerment.
• The Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT) is widely used for measuring PCC due to its practicality.
• Assessing the reliability of the P-CAT is crucial for its valid application in diverse research settings.

Approach:

• This study conducted a reliability generalization meta-analysis on 23 studies involving 25 samples of the P-CAT.
• Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was estimated, and potential moderators like publication year, care setting, and sample demographics were analyzed.
• Statistical methods were employed to synthesize findings and identify factors influencing P-CAT reliability.

Key Points:

• The meta-analysis yielded a mean Cronbach's alpha of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.79-0.84), indicating acceptable internal consistency for the P-CAT.
• Significant heterogeneity was observed (I² = 85.83%), suggesting variability in P-CAT reliability across studies.
• The mean age of the study sample was the only statistically significant moderator affecting the P-CAT's reliability coefficient.

Conclusions:

• The P-CAT demonstrates acceptable score consistency, particularly for group-level descriptions and investigations.
• Researchers should be mindful that participant age can influence the reliability of P-CAT scores.
• Further research may explore other demographic or contextual factors impacting P-CAT psychometric properties.