Development and validation of patient's knowledge measurement tools: The model of the Questionnaire de Connaissances sur l'Asthme destine aux Patients Adultes (QCA-PA)

Introduction. Poor asthma knowledge among asthmatic patients contributes to poor control of the disease. Education is a priority, but it needs a good assessment of the patient's knowledge. Aim. To give a patient's knowledge questionnaire development method following the example of the Questionnaire de Connaissances sur l'Asthme destine aux Patients Adultes (QCA-PA). Methods. The QCA-PA was developed according to Dussault, Valois and Frenette's seven steps and includes 54 "true/false/don't know" items. A total of 101 asthmatic adults completed the questionnaire four times during three visits over a period of about one month. On the second visit, it was answered twice, before and after an individualized education session on asthma. Results. The QCA-PA demonstrates different proofs of validity: content, response process, internal structure, relationship to other variables, and consequences of testing. Confirmatory factorial analysis showed a unidimensional structure. Conclusions. QCA-PA is a new rigorously validated knowledge measurement tool based on the most recent international recommendations. It could help health professionals to better target their educational interventions towards asthma patients. (C) 2015 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.