The Chinese-version of the CARE Measure reliably differentiates between doctors in primary care: a cross-sectional study in Hong Kong
2011

Reliability of the Chinese CARE Measure in Primary Care

Sample size: 984 publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Stewart W Mercer, Colman SC Fung, Frank WK Chan, Fiona YY Wong, Samuel YS Wong, Douglas Murphy

Primary Institution: University of Glasgow

Hypothesis

The study aims to determine the reliability of the Chinese-version of the CARE Measure in differentiating between doctors in a primary care setting in Hong Kong.

Conclusion

The Chinese-CARE Measure is an acceptable and reliable tool for differentiating between doctors' interpersonal competencies in primary care.

Supporting Evidence

  • The Chinese-CARE Measure showed high internal reliability with a coefficient of 0.95.
  • Doctors' mean CARE measure scores varied widely, indicating effective differentiation.
  • The measure effectively discriminated between doctors with as few as 15-20 patient ratings.

Takeaway

This study shows that a questionnaire can help tell how good doctors are at understanding and caring for their patients, and it works well in Chinese.

Methodology

A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire including the Chinese CARE Measure was conducted with 984 patients attending 20 doctors in Hong Kong.

Limitations

Patients were recruited consecutively rather than randomly, and the study involved only 20 doctors, limiting generalizability.

Participant Demographics

{"age_distribution":{"18-44 years":135,"45-65 years":462,"> 65 years":381},"gender_distribution":{"male":426,"female":552},"marital_status":{"single":83,"married/cohabitant":768,"separated":5,"divorced":26,"widowed":78},"education_level":{"no education":146,"primary school":344,"secondary school":410,"tertiary education":60},"chronic_diseases":{"hypertension":535,"diabetes":228,"high_cholesterol":104}}

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.493

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2296-12-43

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