Development, validation and clinical assessment of a short questionnaire to assess disease-related knowledge in inflammatory bowel disease patients

Only two inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) knowledge scales are available, both primarily aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of clinical education programs. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a short knowledge questionnaire for clinical and academic research purposes.

Following initial development, the questionnaire was tested on junior doctors, nurses and administrative staff to assess validity. The questionnaire was then assessed and compared with a previous questionnaire in 31 IBD patients. Three hundred and three further patients completed the questionnaire to establish reliability and determine factors independently associated with disease-related knowledge.

Doctors answered more questions correctly than nurses who scored better than administrative staff (p < 0.001). There was a fair correlation in scores between the short knowledge questionnaire and a previously validated long survey (r = 0.488; p = 0.005). The short knowledge questionnaire was quicker to complete (p < 0.001), was rated as less difficult to understand (p = 0.004) and induce less anxiety (p = 0.004). Both questionnaires were rated similarly with regard to relevance (p = 0.71). Internal consistency was demonstrated with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.73. In clinical testing on 301 patients, the final multivariate model identified young age, Crohn's disease, higher educational status and the presence of a first-degree family member with IBD as being independently and significantly associated with disease-related knowledge.

The short knowledge questionnaire is a simple, valid, reliable and easy to understand research instrument for rapidly assessing knowledge in IBD patients.