چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:The complexity of the primary care system requires a competent manager to achieve high-quality
healthcare. The existing literature in the field yields little evidence of the tools to assess the competency of primary
care administrators. This study aimed to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the competency
scale for primary care managers in Thailand.
Methods:The scale was developed using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions among policy makers,
managers, practitioners, village health volunteers, and clients. The specific dimensions were extracted from 35
participants. 123 items were generated from the evidence and qualitative data. Content validity was established
through the evaluation of seven experts and the original 123 items were reduced to 84 items. The pilot testing was
conducted on a simple random sample of 487 primary care managers. Item analysis, reliability testing, and
exploratory factor analysis were applied to establish the scale’s reliability and construct validity.
Results:Exploratory factor analysis identified nine dimensions with 48 items using a five-point Likert scale. Each
dimension accounted for greater than 58.61 % of the total variance. The scale had strong content validity
(Indices = 0.85). Each dimension of Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.70 to 0.88.
Conclusions:Based on these analyses, this instrument demonstrated sound psychometric properties and therefore
is considered an effective tool for assessment of the primary care manager competencies. The results can be used
to improve competency requirements of primary care managers, with implications for health service management
workforce development.