Reliability and Validity of a Carbohydrate-Counting Knowledge Questionnaire for Young Australians With Type 1
Jacqueline Beal1, Shelley Farrent2, Lavinia Farndale2
1Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Objective:
To test the reliability and validity of a carbohydrate-counting knowledge questionnaire in young Australians with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
Methods:
Children or young adults (<20 years) with T1DM, or their parents, completed the 72-item Australian PedCarbQuiz (AusPCQ), adapted from the American PedCarbQuiz, and an expert assessment of carbohydrate-counting knowledge. Responses were scored and summed (0-72, higher scores = greater knowledge). Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach α, and relative validity using Spearman correlations (with HbA1c) and Bland-Altman analysis (with the expert assessment).
Results:
Australian PedCarbQuiz reliability (n = 44, mean score = 59.7 ± 5.6) was acceptable (α = 0.83). There was a lack of agreement (mean bias = 10.7, P = 0.008) and significant proportional bias between AusPCQ scores and expert assessments (β = -0.73 [95% confidence interval, -1.82 to -0.79]; P < 0.001).
Conclusions And Implications:
The AusPCQ was shown to be reliable but not valid in a small sample. Testing in a larger sample is warranted.
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