Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale: Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties

Abstract

The 27-item DKAS is reliable and shows preliminary validity for the assessment of knowledge deficiencies and change in those who provide care and treatment for people with dementia.

Japanese‐language Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale: Psychometric performance, and health student and professional understanding

“…Although the scale is unidimensional, constituent items cover diverse information about dementia, including pathology, symptomatology, diagnosis, care, communication and risk factors. The 18‐item DKAS‐J also provides a balance between positively‐worded ( n = 11) and negatively‐worded statements ( n = 7), which have been reported to improve the reliability of responses . Commensurate with the DKAS, the DKAS‐J also overcomes ceiling effects that have been observed in other international measures of dementia knowledge …”

“…Analysis was undertaken in four stages consistent with published scale development protocols . Stage 1 (preliminary assessment and refinement) included evaluation of item‐total scores, inter‐item correlations and item difficulty.…”

“…A reliable and valid measure of dementia knowledge for English‐speaking populations was recently developed by the first author . The Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) is capable of accurately measuring dementia knowledge at baseline, and knowledge change following educational intervention among cohorts of health students, health professionals and lay people across four biopsychosocial domains .…”

“…A reliable and valid measure of dementia knowledge for English‐speaking populations was recently developed by the first author . The Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) is capable of accurately measuring dementia knowledge at baseline, and knowledge change following educational intervention among cohorts of health students, health professionals and lay people across four biopsychosocial domains . The DKAS shows acceptable reliability (internal consistency: α total = 0.89; test–retest reliability) and validity (sensitivity to change, discrimination between groups, concurrent validity and factorial validity), and compares favorably with established, though comparatively limited measures, such as the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale …”

Addressing dementia with Indigenous peoples: a contributing initiative from the Circular Head Aboriginal community

“…Only four reported they had received any formal education regarding dementia risk and care. 28 In the sessions, participants completed the 27-item Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) developed by researchers at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, 29,30 and 12 participants shared their dementia care experiences in individual follow-up interviews. 28 The DKAS, rather than the modified Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Test, 23 was chosen as it has a global focus on dementia, including vascular health, which is of particular relevance to Indigenous peoples.…”