Background: Providing high-quality diabetes care in nursing homes and home-based care facilities requires\nsuitable instruments to evaluate the level of diabetes knowledge among the health-care providers. Thus, the\naim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test adapted\nfor use among nursing personnel.\nMethods: The study included 127 nursing personnel (32 registered nurses, 69 nursing aides and 26 nursing\nassistants) at three nursing homes and one home-based care facility in Norway. We examined the reliability and\ncontent and construct validity of the Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test.\nResults: The items in both the general diabetes subscale and the insulin-use subscale were considered relevant\nand appropriate. The instrument showed satisfactory properties for distinguishing between groups. Item response\ntheory-based measurements and item information curves indicate maximum information at average or lower\nknowledge scores. Internal consistency and the item-total correlations were quite weak, indicating that the\nMichigan Diabetes Knowledge Test measures a set of items related to various relevant knowledge topics but\nnot necessarily related to each other.\nConclusions: The Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test measures a broad range of topics relevant to diabetes\ncare. It is an appropriate instrument for identifying individual and distinct needs for diabetes education among\nnursing personnel. The knowledge gaps identified by the Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test could also\nprovide useful input for the content of educational activities. However, some revision of the test should be\nconsidered.
Loading....