Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Perceived Access to Health Care Questionnaire

Background: The Perceived Access to Health Care Questionnaire (PAHCQ) is the latest specific tool used to evaluate patients’ accessibility to the health system. Objectives: This study aimed to translate and verify the item analysis, test-retest reliability, content validity, construct validity, and known-group analysis of the PAHCQ in a Chinese population. Methods: This study developed and validated the Chinese version of the PAHCQ. The translation of the PAHCQ was based on the back translation of Brislin. This study used simple random sampling to include a sample of 591 subjects in Jiangsu, China. Item analysis was used to verify the questionnaire’s expert consistency and cultural adaptation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the structure. Internal consistency was determined using Cronbach’s α, and item validity and test-retest reliability were analyzed. Results: The CFA results indicated that the modified PAHCQ is reasonable. The Cronbach alpha value of the PAHCQ was 0.96. The correlation coefficients for the six domains in test-retest reliability were between 0.67 and 0.91. Comparison of the total PAHCQ scores among participants in different groups of age, gender, maternal status, education level, per capita monthly income, and CCI levels showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The Chinese version of the PAHCQ is a feasible, effective, and reliable tool that can be used to evaluate Chinese patients’ perception of health system accessibility.