Measuring primary care for children of Latino farmworkers: reliability and validity of the parent's perceptions of primary care measure (P3C)

Abstract

This study evaluates the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Parent's Perceptions of Primary Care measure (P3C) in an underserved population: children of Latino farm workers. Bilingual research assistants verbally administered the P3C, as well as a measure of child health-related quality of life (HRQL: the PedsQL 4.0) and demographic questions to 297 Latino farm worker parents of young children, in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The P3C was found to be feasible, as measured by a very low percent of missing/do not know values. Internal consistency reliability for the Total Scale and most subscales was strong. The P3C's validity was demonstrated through factor analysis of the subscales, by showing that scores were lower for children without a regular physician and for children experiencing foregone health care, and by demonstrating that P3C scores were related to HRQL. The P3C can be useful to various stakeholders in measuring primary care for vulnerable populations.