Validation and use of a new patient-centered culturally sensitive health care provider inventory

Provider cultural sensitivity has been positively associated with patient satisfaction (Joffe et al., 2003), treatment adherence (Wilson et al., 2004), and health outcomes (Beach, et al., 2006). Despite the calls for patient-centered care and cultural competence research, there are few inventories for use by patients to evaluate their health care providers. The Tucker-Culturally Sensitive Health Care Provider Inventory – Patient Form (T-CSHCPI-PF) is an inventory for patients to evaluate their providers' level of cultural sensitivity. The T-CSHCPI-PF is novel in that it assesses provider cultural sensitivity as defined by culturally diverse adult patients. The constructs of the T-CSHCPI-PF identify providers' behaviors and skills that enable their patients to feel comfortable, trusting, and respected during their health care experience. The purpose of the present study was to determine the factor structure, internal consistency, and reliability of the T-CSHCPI-PF using a sample of adult patients (N=1,681) from 67 health care sites (e.g., hospitals, community health centers, private practices) across the United States. The sample included 1,681 adults (530 men, 1,060 women, 90 undefined) of whom 21% were African American, 35% were White, 33% were Hispanic, and 11% were Asian American. Participants were recruited by trained community member data collectors at their health care sites. Participants anonymously completed the assessment battery and returned it to the data collector, and were compensated $15 via money order. The assessment battery included the T-CSHCPI-PF, the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire – Short Form (Marshall & Hays, 1994), and a demographic data information questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified three factors: Sensitivity/Interpersonal Skill, Competence/Confidence, and Respect/Communication. These factors evidenced excellent internal consistency with high Cronbach's alphas (Sensitivity/Interpersonal Skill = .95, Competence/Confidence = .93, and Respect/Communication = .94). A Pearson correlation analysis indicated that each of these factors was highly correlated with the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire – Short Form subscales (p < .001). This suggests that the T-CSHCPI-PF is a highly valid measure. The T-CSHCPI-PF may be a useful inventory for obtaining patients' feedback on their providers' cultural sensitivity. Future applications of the T-CSHCPI-PF will be explored, including assessing the effectiveness of trainings to promote patient-centered cultural sensitivity among providers, and a clinical tool which will allow providers to customize their patients' health care by displaying the behaviors that they find most important. Thus, these future applications have important implications for addressing calls for assessments and training to promote cultural sensitivity in efforts to reduce health disparities.