Abstract
Background
Exams are part of the health system, and they contribute to the advancement of care. The request of exams by physicians must be performed properly, and can be influenced by different aspects.
Objective
Develop and validate an instrument to evaluate aspects that influence the request for exams.
Method
This is a cross-sectional, analytical study conducted in the following steps: 1) Identification of the aspects that influence the request for exams in medical practice; 2) Verification of apparent and content validity; 3) Verification of construct validity; 4) Reliability analysis; 5) Verification of discriminant validity applied to 158 family and emergency physicians in the north of Minas Gerais state.
Results
The instrument was composed of 36 psychometrically valid items grouped into five dimensions: particularity of the physician, structure and processes of the health system, characteristics of the patient, professional expertise, and difficulty conducting the exam. The instrument presented apparent and content validity, construct validity, satisfactory level of reliability, and discriminant validity.
Conclusion
The instrument to assess aspects that influence the request of exams in medical practice can identify the particular influence of each aspect and each dimension that interferes with the practice of requesting exams.
Keywords:
diagnostic tests; routine; medical examination; psychometrics; validation studies; education; medical
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