Validation of a provider self-report inventory for measuring patient-centered cultural sensitivity in health care using a sample of medical students.

The paper describes the construction and initial evaluation of the new Tucker-Culturally Sensitive Health Care Inventory (T-CSHCI) Provider Form, which was developed to address the shortcomings of existing similar measures. Two hundred seventeen (217) 3rd and 4th year medical students completed the T-CSHCI-Provider Form. Factor analysis was used to identify non-overlapping items. The final solution produced five factors: patient-centeredness, interpersonal skills, disrespect/disempowerment, competence, and cultural knowledge/responsiveness. The five T-CSHCI-Provider Form factors/subscales proved to be reliable and were associated with related constructs as hypothesized. This study provides initial evidence that the T-CSHCI-Provider Form measures independent dimensions of patient-centered culturally sensitive health care as perceived by medical students. Recommendations for ways in which the T-CSHCI Provider Form can be used to guide culturally sensitive health care training are provided.