Validation of a Chinese version of the dementia knowledge assessment scale in healthcare providers in China

Aims: To translate 25-item Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale into Chinese and evaluate its psychometric properties amongst Chinese healthcare providers.

Background: The prevalence of dementia is increasing in China, but development of relevant training for healthcare providers is still in its infancy stage. A comprehensive, valid and reliable Chinese knowledge-of-dementia measure is needed to identify training needs and evaluate the effect of educational interventions.

Design: A cross-sectional survey.

Methods: The Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale was translated into Chinese following the modified Brislin's translation model. Content and face validity were established by an expert panel in dementia care and healthcare providers. A convenience sample of 290 healthcare providers in care homes and hospitals was recruited. Construct validity was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis, concurrent validity and known groups' comparisons method. Reliability was evaluated through internal consistency reliability and 2-week test-retest reliability. This study used the STROBE checklist for reporting.

Results: The content validity index was 0.98. The confirmatory factor analysis model revealed that the four-factor model was partly supported in the present study. The moderate correlation between Chinese version of Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale and Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale indicated acceptable concurrent validity. The mean score of the scale and subscale scores showed significant differences between health professionals and care assistants, except for the subscale of "Care Considerations." The reliability was demonstrated with Cronbach's alpha of .77 and intra-class correlation coefficients of each subscale between .74 and .92 among 56 respondents.

Conclusions: The Chinese version of Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale demonstrated acceptable concurrent validity but marginal factorial validity and satisfactory reliability amongst Chinese healthcare providers. Therefore, applying the four-factor structure of Chinese version scale should be considered.