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Background <p>Accurate knowledge about dementia among healthcare professionals and family carers is critical for timely recognition, appropriate management, and the delivery of person-centred care. Valid, culturally appropriate instruments are needed to assess knowledge, identify misunderstandings, and guide targeted educational interventions. The Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) is a widely used, multidimensional measure of dementia knowledge covering causes and characteristics, communication and behaviour, care considerations, and risk and health promotion. However, prior to this study, no Thai version of the DKAS had undergone rigorous cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation for use with healthcare professionals and lay carers. This study aimed to adapt and validate the DKAS-Thai for use with healthcare professionals and lay carers.</p> Methods <p>Using established cross-cultural adaptation procedures, the original 25-item DKAS was translated into Thai, with input from an expert panel (<i>N</i> = 9) and a pilot group (<i>N</i> = 40). The final version was administered to 486 participants, including hospital professionals (<i>N</i> = 195), family carers (<i>N</i> = 136), and externs (<i>N</i> = 155). Psychometric evaluation included analyses of internal consistency, test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).</p> Results <p>The DKAS-Thai demonstrated good overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha (α) = 0.825). Three subscales showed lower reliability (α = 0.621–0.750), approaching the commonly accepted threshold of 0.70, while the Communication and Behaviour subscale exhibited notably low reliability (α = 0.327). CFA of the original four-factor model indicated fit indices approaching acceptable thresholds (RMSEA = 0.083, CFI = 0.897, TLI = 0.884, SRMR = 0.109). Removal of the three poorly performing items from the Communication and Behaviour subscale did not substantially improve the subscale’s psychometric properties. Test-retest reliability, evaluated in a subsample of 128 participants, indicated moderate score stability over time. The DKAS-Thai also demonstrated strong discriminative validity, effectively distinguishing dementia knowledge among hospital professionals, externs, and carers (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001).</p> Conclusion <p>The DKAS-Thai is a culturally adapted, valid, and reliable scale for assessing dementia knowledge in Thailand. It can identify knowledge gaps and guide targeted educational interventions as dementia care gains importance nationally. Ongoing refinement and validation in broader Thai populations are recommended.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>

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Psychometric validation and cross-cultural adaptation of the dementia knowledge assessment Scale-Thai (DKAS-Thai)

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月22日

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  • Kanthee Anantapong,
  • Aimorn Jiraphan,
  • Pornjira Pariwatcharakul,
  • Napakkawat Buathong,
  • Suwanna Setthawatcharawanich,
  • Warut Aunjitsakul,
  • Pongsatorn Paholpak,
  • Sirinapa Aphisitphinyo,
  • Pakawat Wiwattanaworaset,
  • Pattharee Paholpak,
  • Nopdanai Sirimaharaj,
  • Kritta Supanimitamorn,
  • Chatchawan Rattanabannakit,
  • Kitikan Thana-udom,
  • Tinakon Wongpakaran,
  • Nahathai Wongpakaran

摘要

Background

Accurate knowledge about dementia among healthcare professionals and family carers is critical for timely recognition, appropriate management, and the delivery of person-centred care. Valid, culturally appropriate instruments are needed to assess knowledge, identify misunderstandings, and guide targeted educational interventions. The Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale (DKAS) is a widely used, multidimensional measure of dementia knowledge covering causes and characteristics, communication and behaviour, care considerations, and risk and health promotion. However, prior to this study, no Thai version of the DKAS had undergone rigorous cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation for use with healthcare professionals and lay carers. This study aimed to adapt and validate the DKAS-Thai for use with healthcare professionals and lay carers.

Methods

Using established cross-cultural adaptation procedures, the original 25-item DKAS was translated into Thai, with input from an expert panel (N = 9) and a pilot group (N = 40). The final version was administered to 486 participants, including hospital professionals (N = 195), family carers (N = 136), and externs (N = 155). Psychometric evaluation included analyses of internal consistency, test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Results

The DKAS-Thai demonstrated good overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha (α) = 0.825). Three subscales showed lower reliability (α = 0.621–0.750), approaching the commonly accepted threshold of 0.70, while the Communication and Behaviour subscale exhibited notably low reliability (α = 0.327). CFA of the original four-factor model indicated fit indices approaching acceptable thresholds (RMSEA = 0.083, CFI = 0.897, TLI = 0.884, SRMR = 0.109). Removal of the three poorly performing items from the Communication and Behaviour subscale did not substantially improve the subscale’s psychometric properties. Test-retest reliability, evaluated in a subsample of 128 participants, indicated moderate score stability over time. The DKAS-Thai also demonstrated strong discriminative validity, effectively distinguishing dementia knowledge among hospital professionals, externs, and carers (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The DKAS-Thai is a culturally adapted, valid, and reliable scale for assessing dementia knowledge in Thailand. It can identify knowledge gaps and guide targeted educational interventions as dementia care gains importance nationally. Ongoing refinement and validation in broader Thai populations are recommended.

Clinical trial number

Not applicable.