Development, validation and use of a patient knowledge questionnaire (PKQ) for patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To design and validate a patient knowledge questionnaire (PKQ) to use pre- and post-education programme for a group of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The aim was to design a tool to assess knowledge acquisition before and after an arthritis information course (AIC).
METHODS: The PKQ design incorporated 12 multichoice questions. Validation procedures were undertaken. Following PKQ validation 30 patients were recruited from specialist practice having met the inclusion criteria. All patients attended the arthritis information course run by the multidisciplinary team. Demographic data such as age, gender, disease duration and educational level were evaluated for possible significance.
RESULTS: The PKQ demonstrated test-retest stability with a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.965 and an intraclass single measure coefficient of 0.87. Internal consistency was demonstrated with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.62. The PKQ was sensitive to change with a statistically significant improvement following three 1-h education sessions (Mann-Whitney U-test P<0.001). No correlation was found between baseline PKQ scores and age or disease duration. However, significant correlation between educational level and pre-knowledge scores (Pearson's correlation r = 0.386, P = 0.035) was demonstrated. Change in PKQ score was not associated with age, disease duration or educational level. Patients with lower initial pre-scores obtained the most improvement post-AIC (chi(2)-test P = 0.003).
CONCLUSIONS: The PKQ is a reliable, valid and sensitive instrument suitable for measuring the acquisition of RA knowledge in a group of early RA patients following arthritis information courses.