Development of a tool to assess the impact of a brief counseling curriculum: Validation of the Attitudes to Psychological Interventions and Counseling in Primary Care (APIC-PC) survey.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and validate an instrument to assess knowledge and attitudes regarding the use of psychological interventions in primary care.


METHODS
A 13-item questionnaire was developed based on literature review and expert panel discussion. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were carried out to test the construct validity of the subscales. Item-scale correlations were used to test the construct validity of the items. Internal reliability was tested by Cronbach's alpha. Responsiveness of the instrument was evaluated by using independent t-test of pre and post program scores.


RESULTS
Exploratory factor analysis extracted four factors: skills and knowledge, confidence to provide counseling, willingness to provide counseling, and curriculum needs. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated excellent goodness-of-fit. Item scale correlations confirmed convergent and discriminant validity. Good responsiveness was shown on independent t-test of the pre and post responses.


CONCLUSIONS
The Attitudes to Psychological Interventions and Counseling in Primary Care (APIC-PC) survey is a valid and responsive instrument for assessing knowledge and attitudes regarding psychological approaches in patient management (mental health care).


CONCLUSIONS
Psycho-social counseling skills training is increasingly being recognised as a valuable component of undergraduate primary care medical education. The APIC-PC is a useful tool for evaluating the impact of such programs.
Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. chinwy@hku.hk
Weng-Yee
WY
Chin
Cindy
C
Lam
Carlos
C
Wong
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003376:Counseling / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult