Development and Validation of the Resident Healthcare-Seeking Culture Scale (RHCS) Among Chinese Demographics in the Community Setting.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to develop a measurement scale with good reliability and validity to assess the reasonableness of resident healthcare-seeking culture.

Methods: This investigation utilized a cross-sectional research design, employing a multi-stage random sampling technique to select adult inhabitants aged eighteen and above who possess fundamental literacy abilities. An online survey was conducted from March to April 2021 across 27 provinces in China, encompassing 911 questionnaires for scale development. This study primarily applied discriminant coefficients and exploratory factor analysis to refine the scale items. Scale reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and split-half reliability. Scale validity was determined through content validity and structural validity. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0, and structural equation modeling was executed with AMOS 23.0 software. Statistical significance was defined at P<0.05.

Results: The Resident Healthcare-seeking Culture Scale (RHCS) ultimately comprised 5 dimensions and 20 items. The cumulative explained variance of the five common factors within this scale amounts to 55.24%, satisfactorily adhering to the established criterion of social science research that the extracted factors should explain between 50% and 60% of the total variance. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.83. Split-half reliability was 0.87. The Pearson correlation coefficients associating the scores from the five dimensions with the overall scale score were 0.78, 0.65, 0.65, 0.64, and 0.42, respectively, all statistically significant with P-values less than 0.001. The results of confirmatory factor analysis suggested that RMR=0.045, GFI=0.952, AGFI=0.936, PGFI=0.712, NFI=0.917, IFI=0.944, TLI=0.931, CFI = 0.943, and RMSEA = 0.046.

Conclusion: The measurement scale for healthcare-seeking culture among Chinese residents exhibits superior reliability and validity, serving as an effective instrument for hospital administrators to evaluate the reasonableness of demand-side healthcare culture.