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

Aim This study aimed to establish reliability and cut‐off scores for the person‐centred climate questionnaire – staff version (PCQ‐S) in residential aged care. Background 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. Method 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. Result 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. Conclusion 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. Implications for nursing management 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.