       Document 0202
 DOCN  M95B0202
 TI    A measure of knowledge and confidence in relation to HIV and AIDS:
       reliability and validity.
 DT    9511
 AU    Ferguson E; Cox T; Irving K; Leiter M; Farnsworth B; Department of
       Psychology, University of Nottingham, UK.
 SO    AIDS Care. 1995;7(2):211-28. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/95345149
 AB    Knowledge of HIV and AIDS is widely seen as an important determinant of
       anxiety about such infection in health care workers. However, existing
       measures of this knowledge suffer from a number of methodological
       problems and few demonstrate adequate reliability and validity. This
       paper documents the development of a new measure detailing its
       reliability and validity. Knowledge, and also confidence in knowledge,
       were assessed across seven domains of relevant information (e.g.
       epidemiology, personal risk, symptomatology) in one non-expert group
       (non-medical undergraduate psychologist) and in three groups with
       greater expertise (nursing students and third year and final year
       medical students). The measure was shown to be reliable and to
       discriminate between the four groups in a manner consistent with the
       level of education received by each group and in terms of both the scale
       scores for the seven domains and the individual items. In general, final
       year medical students were shown to be more knowledgeable, and more
       confident in their knowledge, than the other groups. The non-medical
       undergraduates showed the lowest level of knowledge. In general, the
       groups appeared under-confident in their knowledge about HIV/AIDS. This
       was interpreted in terms of members of these groups exhibiting caution
       and the perceived fluctuating nature of the HIV knowledge base.
       Implications for the training of health care workers in relation to
       HIV/AIDS are discussed.
 DE    Adult  Discriminant Analysis  Educational Measurement/*STANDARDS  Female
       Human  *HIV Infections/EPIDEMIOLOGY/PREVENTION & CONTROL/TRANSMISSION
       *Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice  Male  Psychometrics  Reproducibility of
       Results  Students/PSYCHOLOGY  Students, Medical/PSYCHOLOGY  Students,
       Nursing/PSYCHOLOGY  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

