J Agric Med Community Health.  2017 Mar;42(1):24-35. 10.5393/JAMCH.2017.42.1.024.

Evaluating the Primary Care Quality of a Public Health Center in a Rural Area

• Byeon YK
• Choi YJ

• KMID: 2377052
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5393/JAMCH.2017.42.1.024

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to evaluate the primary care quality of a public health center in a rural area using the Korean Primary Care Assessment Tool (KPCAT). It also examined some methodological issues in applying the KPCAT and interpreting its results.
METHODS
Seventy-nine patients who had visited their doctor more than four times responded to the KPCAT questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a radar chart were used in analyzing data. Sign test was used to test the KPCAT score difference by don't know option scoring methods.
RESULTS
Median and interquartile range of the public health center's KPCAT scores were forty-five and sixteen points, respectively. Only the median of the first contact domain reached the expected value of seventy-five points. The proportions of those who scored under the expected value were under fifty percent in two of four comprehensiveness items, all of three coordinating function items, two of five personalized items and all of four family/community orientation items. There were some methodological issues including, how to score don't know option and make sure response scale consistency.
CONCLUSIONS
There was much room to improve the primary care quality of the rural public health center. Especially, improvement is needed in the domain of coordinating function and family/community orientation. We also hope that methodological improvement of the KPCAT contributes to more valid and reliable primary care assessment.

Keyword

Community health centers; Primary health care; Process assessment; Rural health services

MeSH Terms

Community Health Centers
Hope
Humans
Primary Health Care*
Process Assessment (Health Care)
Public Health*
Research Design
Rural Health Services