Assessing health practitioner knowledge of appropriate psychotropic medication use in nursing homes: validation of the Older Age Psychotropic Quiz

Despite widespread concern over psychotropic medication use, their regular administration continues in nursing homes. Consequently, it is vital that health practitioners in this setting have adequate knowledge of appropriate use. The Older Age Psychotropic Quiz (OAPQ) was developed to assess this knowledge, with psychometric testing reported herein. The 10-item OAPQ was constructed after substantial literature review and consultation with 10 experienced senior care professionals. Data from 36 nursing students, 461 nursing home staff, and 30 senior care pharmacists were used for validation analyses. Satisfactory construct validity was identified via the group comparison method (χ² [2, n = 101] = 79.21, p < 0.001). Internal reliability was strong (alpha = 0.89). Test–retest reliability was acceptable over time (r = 0.77). Factor analysis resulted in a two-factor solution. Psychometric analyses support the OAPQ for use in the nursing home setting.