The Family Medicine Attitudes Questionnaire: A Valid Instrument to Assess Student Attitudes Toward Family Medicine. Fam Med 2019 Jun;51(6):493-501
Date
06/12/2019Pubmed ID
31184763DOI
10.22454/FamMed.2019.957692Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85067795465 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 4 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Medical student attitudes toward family medicine influence student likelihood of choosing family medicine and the US primary care physician workforce. We sought to refine and assess the validity of the Family Medicine Attitudes Questionnaire, an instrument that assesses student attitudes toward family medicine in US medical students.
METHODS: A 24-item questionnaire, including items assessing students' attitudes toward family medicine's importance, family physician shortage, family medicine research, family systems, family physicians' expertise, and lifestyle, was offered to fourth-year students at 16 US medical schools. We evaluated the questionnaire's content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity. Content validity was assessed using a qualitative approach to direct observation, construct validity by data reduction and iterative factor analyses, and criterion validity by correlating items with intention to match into family medicine.
RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 1,188 (44.9%) of 2,644 students invited to complete it; 10 items were removed in the validation process. The final 14-item instrument had a Cronbach α of 0.767. Total score correlated with family medicine specialty choice (P<.001). A questionnaire score of 56 or higher is 78.1% sensitive and 65.3% specific for identifying students who intend to match into family medicine. In regression analysis, questionnaire score was an independent predictor of choosing family medicine (odds ratio 1.289, confidence interval 1.223-1.347).
CONCLUSIONS: The Family Medicine Attitudes Questionnaire is a valid instrument for assessing US medical student attitudes toward family medicine. This tool will help educators assess the impact of curricular and policy interventions designed to promote family medicine specialty choice.
Author List
Phillips JP, Prunuske J, Fitzpatrick L, Mavis BAuthor
Jacob P. Prunuske MD Assistant Dean, Professor in the Medical School Regional Campuses department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAttitude of Health Personnel
Career Choice
Family Practice
Female
Humans
Male
Physicians, Family
Reproducibility of Results
Students, Medical
Surveys and Questionnaires
