Patients' Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC): Validation and Evaluation of PACIC Scale among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Hungary

Introduction: The aims of this study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Hungarian translation of the PACIC in a sample of patients with type 2 diabetes and to reveal the associations between the mean PACIC scores and the number of chronic diseases, or visits to GPs, and specialist. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has also been performed to test the structural validity of the PACIC scale. Methods: The Hungarian version of PACIC was validated using randomly selected patients with type 2 diabetes (N = 684) from licensed GP practices. Results: Floor (1.6%-30.2%) and ceiling effects (11.3-33.6%) were similar of the PACIC scale. The internal consistency of the total scale (Cronbach's alpha 0.93) was excellent and subscales were good (between 0.73-0.9). The mean scores of each PACIC subscale group were between 2.99-3.53. There was a weak significant correlation between the mean PACIC scores of subscales and the number of GP visits (p < 0.001), and specialist visits (p < 0.001). The EFA identified four factors on the sample (KMO = 0.931). Gender and education showed correlation with some new factors. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of PACIC questionnaire showed a reasonable level of validity among patients with type 2 diabetes. Now, this instrument is ready to assess the chronic care of diabetic patients in Hungary.