Reliability of health knowledge measurement in very young children

Area of Science:

• Child Development
• Health Education
• Educational Measurement

Background:

• Assessing health knowledge in young children is crucial for early intervention.
• Existing tools may not be suitable for the developmental stage of preschoolers.
• Picture identification instruments offer a potentially accessible method for this age group.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the reliability of a specific picture identification instrument for health knowledge assessment.
• To determine the utility of this instrument with children aged three to five in preschool programs.
• To provide recommendations for using such instruments in early childhood education.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 311 children (ages 3-5) from preschools participated.
• A 30-item comprehensive health knowledge instrument was administered.
• A retest was conducted after two weeks on a 20% subsample.
• Reliability was assessed using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation and Kuder-Richardson 21.

Main Results:

• The instrument demonstrated high reliability for individual administration to children aged three to five.
• Statistical analyses confirmed the consistency and stability of the instrument's measurements.
• The study supported the instrument's suitability for the target age group.

Conclusions:

• The picture identification instrument is a reliable tool for assessing comprehensive health knowledge in young children.
• Its use is recommended in preschool programs to evaluate children's health understanding.
• Similar picture-based instruments may also be effective for this purpose.