Knowledge tests in patient education: a systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Patient Education Research
• Health Literacy Assessment

Background:

• Patient education is crucial for health management and outcomes.
• Effective patient education requires reliable methods to assess knowledge acquisition.
• Existing knowledge tests in patient education vary widely in design and application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and characterize existing knowledge tests used in patient education.
• To identify the common features, quality assessments, and applications of these tests.
• To highlight gaps and recommend future directions for developing more effective knowledge assessments.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of four databases (Medline, Cinahl, PsycINFO, ERIC) following PRISMA guidelines.
• Identification and analysis of 49 knowledge tests used in patient education studies.
• Evaluation of test content, structure, quality assessment methods, and reported uses.

Main Results:

• Forty-nine knowledge tests were identified, predominantly focusing on biophysiological and functional health knowledge.
• Tests typically comprised 20 items using true-false or multiple-choice formats; most were study-specific.
• Content validity and internal consistency were the most frequently reported quality metrics.

Conclusions:

• Knowledge tests are valuable for measuring patient education outcomes, guiding content, monitoring learning, and serving as educational tools.
• Current assessments are comprehensive but there is a need for more efficient and health problem-specific knowledge tests.
• Future research should focus on developing and validating targeted knowledge assessments to enhance patient education effectiveness.