Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of measuring organisational culture in primary care and reports on the construction and early pilot work surrounding the development of the Practice Culture Questionnaire (PCQ). The PCQ was designed specifically to identify variations in resistance culture to quality improvement activities in UK primary care teams. Questions were derived from a model of clinical governance and from interviews of primary care teams about quality improvement activities. A 25-item measure was devised and piloted with a sample of 21 practices. Response rates were satisfactory and the findings discriminated between primary care teams. Further evaluation of the measure is now required. The value of a measure that identifies resistant culture to quality improvement in primary care teams is discussed.