Assessment of Psychometric Properties of an Oral Health Care Measure of Cultural Competence Among Dental Students Using Rasch Partial Credit Model

Abstract

Reliability, validity, and feasibility of the only validated oral health care measure of cultural competence, the Knowledge, Efficacy, and Practices Instrument (KEPI), have been confirmed. However, the instrument's psychometric properties including item and person reliability, category response functioning, and scale targeting, as well as differential scale functioning for subgroups, have not yet been examined. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of KEPI among dental students using Rasch Partial Credit Model to determine if this model provided broader valid information that cannot be demonstrated according to Classical Test Theory. A total 1,290 dental students in the first or final semester at four U.S. dental schools were invited to participate in the study in 2016. Of those, 1,231 individuals completed the survey, for a 95.4% response rate. The participants were 613 males and 618 females and 889 non‐underrepresented minority (URM) and 342 URM students. The Rasch Partial Credit Model assessed the psychometric properties of KEPI's 20 items/three subscales. Differential scale functioning was found in the Culture‐Centered Practice and Efficacy of Assessment subscales. Four items were endorsed differentially by gender; four items were endorsed differentially by URM/non‐URM students. This study examined the psychometric properties of the KEPI using Rasch analysis to assess differential item functioning by dental student gender and race. The results provided valid evidence for the high internal reliability, measurement properties, and unidimensionality for the KEPI domains, ideal targeting, and well response category functioning, showing that the KEPI is a reliable instrument for measuring the subscales Knowledge of Diversity, Culture‐Centered Practice skills, and Efficacy of Assessment for health care providers.

Evaluation of knowledge and attitude of medical interns regarding oral and dental health in Yazd (2016)

“…The mouth is full of numerous bacteria that cause some diseases of the teeth and gums [1]. Some researchers believe that oral infections, especially periodontitis, are closely linked to cardiovascular disease [2][3][4][5].…”

Scoping Review of Economical, Efficient, and Effective Cultural Competency Measures

“…However, consensus has not been reached on how to measure it, and vastly different tools have been developed, which tend to vary by field. For example, frequently used measures in nursing are Campinha-Bacote's (1999) Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence among Health-Care Professionals-Revised (IAPCC-R) and Su and Behar-Horenstein's (2018) Knowledge, Efficacy, and Practices Instrument for dentistry. Such field-specific measures may be useful within their particular disciplines but may have limited generalizability.…”