An Instrument for Measuring Critical Appraisal Self-Efficacy in Rheumatology Trainees.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Rheumatology Training
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Self-efficacy, the belief in one's ability to succeed in specific tasks, significantly impacts behavior.
• Fostering critical appraisal self-efficacy is crucial for rheumatology trainees to effectively evaluate medical literature.
• The Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory (CRAI) measures clinical research self-efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if specific items from the CRAI could be utilized to measure critical appraisal self-efficacy (CASE).
• To validate a new instrument for assessing CASE in rheumatology trainees.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire with selected CRAI items was administered to 125 rheumatology trainees across 33 programs.
• A six-item scale was developed to generate a Critical Appraisal Self-Efficacy (CASE) score (range 0-10).
• Internal structure, internal consistency, and validity (criterion and discriminant) of the CASE scores were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The six-item CASE instrument demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.95) and unidimensionality.
• Higher CASE scores correlated with higher self-rated understanding of epidemiology and biostatistics (P < 0.0001).
• Participants with higher CASE scores were more likely to use studies for clinical questions (OR 2.47, P = 0.002), supporting criterion validity.

Conclusions:

• The six-item CASE instrument is a valid and reliable measure of critical appraisal self-efficacy.
• The instrument demonstrated content validity, internal consistency, and criterion validity, including correlation with self-reported behaviors.
• This tool has potential utility in rheumatology training programs to enhance critical appraisal skills and confidence.