THE ARTHRITIS KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONNAIRE - A TEST FOR MEASURING PATIENT KNOWLEDGE OF ARTHRITIS AND ITS SELF-MANAGEMENT

Objective. To develop a questionnaire for measuring patients' knowledg e about arthritis and its selfmanagement, Methods. An initial item poo l of 175 multiple-choice questions was developed, based on the Stanfor d Arthritis Self-Management Program and on basic medical knowledge abo ut arthritis and its management, A rheumatologist, psychologist, physi otherapist, and several lay individuals assessed the questions for con tent validity, breadth of coverage, and face validity, Patients assess ed the questions for comprehensibility. Four subject groups with varyi ng knowledge levels were recruited to answer the entire set of questio ns, Item analysis was undertaken to develop parallel forms of subtests so that repeated assessments could be undertaken. Results. The final instrument, the Arthritis Knowledge Questionnaire, consists of 2 tests , each comprising 3 subtests: self-management (15 items), arthritis in general (15 items), and rheumatoid arthritis (11 items). Conclusion. We present psychometric evidence that these parallel forms provide hig hly reliable and valid estimates of knowledge concerning arthritis and arthritis self-management.