Person-centred climate questionnaire (PCQ-S): establishing reliability and cut-off scores in residential aged care

Abstract

This study aimed to establish reliability and cut-off scores for the person-centred climate questionnaire - staff version (PCQ-S) in residential aged care. A number of tools have emerged recently to measure person-centredness, and these need psychometric evaluation and cut-off scores to enhance utilisation and interpretation. A cross-sectional survey design was employed in a Swedish sample of residential aged care staff (n = 1237). Psychometric evaluation using Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlation was used, together with establishing cut-off scores based on quartile scores. The PCQ-S had satisfactory psychometric properties and the following total scale cut-off scores for unit person-centredness were suggested: ≤ 49 ('well below average'), 50-56 ('below average'), 57-62 ('above average') and ≥ 63 ('well above average'). These cut-off scores were clinically meaningful as they separated the sample into four groups in which staff in more person-centred units reported significantly higher work satisfaction, social support and less stress of conscience. The PCQ-S has reliability in residential aged care samples, and cut-off scores are provided that provide important fundaments for comparative studies and aggregation of data to explore person-centredness care further. The study enables managers with ways to measure, interpret and compare levels of person-centredness between units and facilities for research, practice development and/or benchmarking purposes.