An Australian facts on ageing quiz

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Educational Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• The global population is aging, yet accurate knowledge about older adults remains a concern.
• Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ) is a widely used measure of aging knowledge.
• The multiple-choice version (FAQ-MC) offers improved reliability and validity over the true-false format but lacks an Australian translation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and validate the multiple-choice version of Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ-2(MC)) for an Australian context.
• To assess the utility of the translated FAQ-2(MC) in measuring Australian undergraduates' knowledge of aging.

Main Methods:

• Adaptation of the FAQ version 2 in multiple-choice format (FAQ-2(MC)) for Australian use.
• Data collection from 151 Australian university undergraduates who completed the adapted FAQ-2(MC).

Main Results:

• The adapted Australian FAQ-2(MC) was administered to 151 undergraduates (mean age 19.9 years).
• Participants achieved a mean score of 51.5% correct on the Australian FAQ-2(MC), indicating limited existing knowledge.

Conclusions:

• The adapted Australian multiple-choice FAQ demonstrates utility for assessing aging knowledge in this population.
• Findings underscore the necessity of localizing and verifying aging knowledge assessments for specific cultural contexts.