CAHPS American Indian Survey
The CAHPS American Indian Survey, developed in 2005, is a standardized questionnaire that asks adult American Indians to report on and rate their experiences with tribal healthcare facilities. It was originally developed for the Choctaw Nation Health Service but has been adapted for use by other tribal nations. The survey's purpose is to assess patients' experiences with tribal outpatient clinics or other clinics with similar settings and to support the clinics in their efforts to evaluate the need for internal quality improvements.
No CAHPS supplemental items were developed for the American Indian Survey. To capture information about patients' experiences in domains not addressed by this survey, users may add supplemental items designed for the CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey. For assistance with modifying and placing these items in the American Indian Survey, please contact the CAHPS User Network at cahps1@westat.com or 800–492–9261.
Get the American Indian Survey
The following documents are available for this survey:
- CAHPS American Indian Survey (PDF, 644 KB; Word, 54 KB)—English only
- Patient Experience Measures From the CAHPS American Indian Survey (PDF, 636 KB)
Users of this survey may want to consult the following guidance:
Quality Measures from the American Indian Survey
The American Indian Survey produces the following measures of patient experience:
- Getting care quickly.
- Getting needed care.
- How well health professionals communicate.
- Helpful, courteous, and respectful office staff.
- Guidance about your personal health.
- Perceived discrimination because of tribal affiliation.
- Shared decisionmaking.
- Coordination of care.
- Patients' rating of the provider.
- Patients' rating of the clinic.
Review CAHPS American Indian Survey Measures.
Brief History
In collaboration with the Choctaw Nation Health Services (CNHS), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and RAND Corporation developed a survey instrument that would allow the CNHS to assess patients' experiences with Choctaw Nation healthcare facilities. While this survey was created to meet the needs of the CNHS, it has been slightly revised to work for other tribal populations. Any organization may download and use this survey.
The CAHPS American Indian Survey was adapted from an early version of the Clinician & Group Survey. However, to meet the circumstances and needs of the American Indian population, it differs from its source in three ways:
- By incorporating topics that are important to this population, such as discrimination.
- By not covering some topics in as much detail.
- By using some different terminology (e.g., "health professional").
Learn about the development of the American Indian Survey.
No updates or revisions to this tool are currently planned; however, users may continue to administer the original survey developed in 2005.
Questions about the CAHPS American Indian Survey may be directed to cahps1@westat.com, or 1-800-492-9261.
