O-04 Validation of the Trinidadian Primary Care Assessment Tool–Adult Edition and the Assessment of Primary Care in South-West Trinidad during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Author(s):
S Ramjit , S Motilal
Year of Presentation:
2023
Objective: To adapt the Primary Care Assessment Tool–Adult Edition (PCAT-AE) for Trinidad and Tobago by assessing its validity and internal consistency, and re-analyse the data using the validated Trinidadian version (PCAT-TT).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the health centres of the South-West Regional Health Authority during the period of July 2021 to January 2022. Data was collected via convenience sampling and telephone interviews. Tests for reliability and validity were performed. The data was re-analysed using the PCAT-TT.
Results: There were 369 participants in total. Thirty-three items of the PCAT-AE did not meet the retention criteria and were deleted, resulting in the validated PCAT-TT with 67 items. The domains with the lowest scores included Comprehensiveness: Services Received, First Contact: Access, Coordination: Information Systems and Community Orientation. Predictors of great performance PCAT-TT overall scores were found to be primary school education level or lower, duration of attending health centre =5 years and referral to specialists.
Conclusion: The PCAT-TT has been proven to be a valid and reliable tool to extensively evaluate primary health care in Trinidad and Tobago. This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic when there were national restrictions in place to limit the spread of the virus which were also reflected in the PCAT-TT scores. Recommendations to strengthen the public primary health care system include improvement in attributes such as accessibility, person-focused care, coordination through information systems, primary health care services and research in the community.