Validation of the CONNECT Survey: A Brief Tool to Measure the Caregiver-Clinician Relationship in Pediatric Primary Care

Objective: The relational quality between caregivers and pediatric clinicians is crucial for child health but is rarely measured using tools developed with families. The CONNECT survey, co-created with caregivers, assesses relational experiences during well-child visits. Methods: We validated the English version of the CONNECT survey using data from 2966 caregivers across 127 Reach Out and Read pediatric and family medicine clinics in the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic. Psychometric analyses included measures of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega), test–retest reliability (Gwet’s AC1), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and validity assessments. Convergent validity was tested against CAHPS and Press Ganey items. Results: The CONNECT survey demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = 0.993; ω = 0.993) and strong test–retest reliability (AC1 = 0.87–0.95). EFA supported a unidimensional structure, with one factor accounting for 98.9% of the variance. Moderate, significant correlations were observed between CONNECT items and both CAHPS and Press Ganey measures (ρ = 0.23–0.30). Conclusion: The CONNECT survey is a valid, reliable, caregiver-informed tool for measuring relational quality in pediatric care, offering an alternative to traditional patient experience surveys and fostering efforts to amplify caregiver voices and strengthen family-centered care.