The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Nurses’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Elder Abuse

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a tool to measure nurses’ knowledge of, attitude towards, and practice regarding the elder abuse phenomenon.Design: The present study is methodological research that was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, the available tools related to knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding elder abuse were identified through an extensive review of theoretical principles, previous research, and related articles. the initial items were extracted and categorized. In the second stage, the psychometric properties of the tool were examined by assessing face validity, content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and stability. ۴۰۰ nurses working in the hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.Results: The initial tool consisted of ۱۱۴ items extracted, ۳۴ of which were removed according to the experts’ opinions. The face validity of the ۸۰-item questionnaire was then examined. The number of the items was reduced to ۷۴ after measuring the face validity. After the qualitative measurement of the content validity, ۳ items were eliminated. After measuring the content validity using a quantitative approach, ۸ other items were removed and ۶۳ items remained. According to the content validity index, ۱ more item was removed, reducing the number to ۶۲. The construct validity approved ۳ dimensions of knowledge, attitude, and practice. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated to be ۰.۸۴. The stability was also confirmed through test-retest with a value of ۰.۸۵ for the whole scale.Conclusion: The tool developed for assessing nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding elder abuse have acceptable dependability and credibility. Given the advantages of this tool, including the simplicity and fluency of sentences, and the comprehensive evaluation of nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding elder abuse, it is recommended to use this tool in relevant future studies.

Keywords:

Elder Abuse , Questionnaire , Knowledge , Attitude , Practice.