title: Promoting and measuring family caregiver self-efficacy in caregiver-physician interactions.
abstract: This article describes the development of a 5-item scale that assesses family caregivers' self-efficacy in communicating with physicians about ill family members (Perceived Efficacy in Caregiver-Physician Interactions-PECPI) in the context of an evaluation study of an online training in health care communication skills for caregivers. A national sample of 197 self-identified family caregivers participated in an online webinar and completed a brief evaluation instrument before and immediately after the training. Results indicated that the webinar was effective in increasing perceived self-efficacy and self-reported knowledge about and level of preparation for medical visits. Principal component analysis indicates that the PECPI is unidimensional with a Cronbach's alpha of .91.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. cmoore@skidmore.edu
authors.forename: Crystal Dea
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult