Examination of primary care characteristics in a community-based clinic.
OBJECTIVE
To (a) examine the reliability and validity of the Primary Care Assessment Survey (PCAS), (b) describe the primary care characteristics of a community-based clinic in an underserved area in Appalachia, (c) examine the relationships between primary care characteristics and socioeconomic factors, (d) compare and contrast patients who have regular providers of care with those who did not have regular providers of care; and (e) examine provider primary care characteristics that predict comprehensive knowledge of patients.


METHODS
Data for this cross-sectional survey (N = 227) were collected over a 4-month period using face-to-face interviews at a not-for-profit, community-based clinic serving patients in three Appalachian states in the southeastern United States.


METHODS
The PCAS was used to measure 11 domains of primary care provider performance and to identify and group patients who had regular providers of care (n = 126) and patients who did not have regular providers of care (n = 98) at the clinic.


RESULTS
Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the total scale was .74 after deleting one subscale. Factor analysis revealed one PCAS dimension, Communication, accounting for 44% of the total variance. Primary care providers' Interpersonal Treatment and Longitudinal Continuity were predictors of Comprehensive Knowledge of the patient and accounted for 26% and 6% of the variance, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The PCAS showed evidence of reliability and validity with underserved Appalachian patients receiving care in a community-based clinic. The findings showed that patients receiving care from primary care providers had sustained relationship that affected communication aimed at improving primary care outcomes.
Hartley
Lou Ann
LA
University of Kentucky, College of Nursing, Lexington, KY, USA. hartley@marshall.edu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007629:Kentucky; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results