Abstracts

Knowledge of womens issue[apos]s and epilepsy is important for health care professionals (HCP) involved in the management of females with epilepsy. Women with epilepsy (WWE) are exposed to a variety of complex issues and concerns. In order to effectively counsel women, HCPs must obtain and retain accurate information. The purpose of developing the Knowledge of Womens[apos] Issues and Epilepsy (KOWIE) II questionnaire is to provide a standardized instrument to assess HCPs knowledge about WWE. The KOWIE II can serve as a baseline and posttest evaluation for educational interventions. To date, there are no standardized tools used to assess the knowledge of women[apos]s issues and epilepsy. The purpose of this study is to report the validity and reliability of the KOWIE II.
To establish the significance of each item, the original questionnaire was sent to five epilepsy experts who documented comments concerning the relevance of each item. Recommendations were later used to develop the final 10- item tool, which was then evaluated for validity and reliability. The final tool consisted of items pertaining to perceptions, adherence, folate, hormones, AEDs, bone health, and child bearing. Content validity was established by a review of the literature, clinical experience, and a content validity inventory (CVI). The CVI was sent to 11 experts across the country. Experts consisted of epileptologists, epilepsy nurses, social workers and a pharmacist who rated on an ordinal scale of 1 to 4 the appropriateness of each item as it pertained to WWE. A rating of one corresponded to [quot]not relevant[quot] and a rating of four corresponded to [quot]extremely relevant[quot]. Content validity was determined by the proportion of experts who rated the item as content valid (a rating of 3 or 4). Results were calculated based on item agreement, with 80% used as the minimun acceptable outcome. To evaluate reliability, 20 HCPs were given the questionnaire on Day 1 and asked to repeat it the following day, Day 2. HCPs were asked not to review information pertaining to WWE until after the final questionnaire was returned.
Eight of 11 experts responded to the CVI. The CVI for 9 of 10 items was 100%, for 1 item it was 89%. One expert rated the question pertaining to catamenial epilepsy as a [quot]2[quot] and indicated that it was [quot]interesting[quot], but not as clinically relevant as other items. The total CVI was 99%. Data for test-retest reliability were analyzed on 18 of 20 responses; 2 were excluded due to incomplete data. The correlation co-efficient for test-retest reliability was 82.3%.
The KOWIE II was found to be both valid and reliable, and appears to be an efficient and easily administered clinical tool. Because future studies and new information will alter current knowledge, this tool may require modification. The questionnaire can provide an assessment of HCP[apos]s current knowledge of women[apos]s issues in epilepsy, and guide relevent interventions.
[Supported by: UCB Pharma, Inc]