Knowledge assessment instrument on basic support of hip fractures in the elderly

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Hip fractures are a significant health concern in elderly populations.
• Effective management requires healthcare professionals with adequate knowledge of basic life support and related complications.
• Existing assessment tools may not comprehensively cover the specific knowledge required for elderly hip fracture patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate an instrument designed to assess undergraduate health students' knowledge.
• The instrument focuses on basic life support, risk factors, damage, and disorders in elderly patients with hip fractures.

Main Methods:

• A Delphi method with expert subjective and objective analysis using a Likert scale was employed.
• The instrument was refined based on expert feedback.
• The revised instrument was administered to 179 undergraduate health students.

Main Results:

• The instrument achieved the minimum Cronbach's alpha criterion (≥0.70) overall and for the 'risk factors' section.
• Cronbach's alpha remained at 0.551 after retaining initial items and deleting seven assessment items.

Conclusions:

• The developed instrument possesses adequate internal validity for evaluating undergraduate health students' knowledge.
• It effectively assesses understanding of basic life support, damage, injuries, and risk factors in elderly hip fracture patients.
• Level of Evidence: III, Diagnostic Study.