Development and validation of the Psychotropic Education and Knowledge (PEAK) test on psychotropic drugs for nurses in an acute geriatric care setting

IntroductionIn Belgium, psychotropic drug use is high among older people. With low proven long-term effectiveness and possible severe side effects, psychotropic drugs in geriatric patients should be prescribed with utmost caution. Nursing staff's knowledge on psychotropic drugs can be crucial in the appropriate prescribing and reduction of these drugs. Since knowledge assessment instruments on psychotropic drugs are scarce, a Dutch knowledge test, the Psychotropic Education and Knowledge (PEAK) test, was designed using a prospective psychometric instrument validation study.MethodsFactors relevant for nursing practice on psychotropic drugs were identified. A Delphi expert panel (n = 10) evaluated face and construct validity. Internal consistency was assessed using the known groups’ method. Reliability and stability were assessed using a test-retest procedure in nursing students (n = 52). Item analysis included difficulty index and discrimination value.ResultsTwenty-four items were retained after the Delphi panel. The discrimination value was acceptable [0.05–0.27] and difficulty index showed good results [0.10–0.89]. A good stability, r = 0.80 (95% CI = 0.68-0.88, P < .001] and a good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.76) were found. The mean knowledge of respondents (n = 317) was low, with nurses (46.0%) scoring better than nursing students (37.9%, P < .001). Having a Bachelor degree and graduating in geriatric specialisation was associated with higher results.ConclusionThis is the first knowledge assessment instrument on psychotropic drugs for nurses in an acute geriatric care setting. Mean test scores were low, indicating a knowledge deficit among nurses and nursing students. Further refining of the test and validation in other care settings is needed.