Development of Assessment Tool to Measure Soft Skills in the Performance of Healthcare Providers

Abstract

The objective of the study is to develop an assessment tool to measure healthcare providers’ use of soft skills during their encounters with patients in primary care settings. Development of the assessment tool is designed to address a gap in performance measurement systems used in healthcare settings. The current study utilizes the Iceberg Model of Managerial Competencies to define the construct and develop a conceptual model of soft skills. The research consisted of two phases and implemented a mixed-methods approach. Phase One used qualitative focus groups and semi-structured personal interviews to identify essential soft skills for provider-patient interactions and generate an initial item pool for the assessment tool. A total of 62 participants including users (n=35) and providers (n=27) of healthcare services were recruited using a purposeful and snowball sampling strategies. Six subject matter experts were also recruited in this phase to assess content validity using a purposeful sampling strategy. Content and thematic analysis following the grounded theory method were used in Phase One to interpret the qualitative data. Phase One resulted in the generation of a pool of 198 items and the identification of 10 soft skills as the most essential for provider-patient interactions in a primary care setting. The first refined draft of the Soft Skills Assessment Tool (SSAT) consisted of 49 items rated on 6-point Likert-type scale exhibited excellent content and face validity. Phase Two used quantitative online surveys to pilot test and establish face validity of the assessment tool, as well as to explore the psychometric properties including the factorial structure of the final measure. Fourteen users of healthcare services were recruited using a convenience sample to examine face validity. Data from 202 users of healthcare services were used to inform factorial structure and test the internal consistency of the scale. Exploratory factor analysis in Phase Two supported a two-factor model measured with 38 items and two composite latent constructs: behavioral-interaction competence and affective-interaction. The SSAT demonstrated good factor structure and psychometric properties with high levels of internal consistency. This study suggests that SSAT is a reliable measure. Future research to establish the construct-validity of the SSAT is recommended. The SSAT offers value for future research regarding soft skills in patient-provider interactions as well as a means for healthcare managers to gain a more comprehensive view of provider competence in the delivery of care.