Evaluation of psychometric properties of a leaflet developed for schizophrenia

Patients with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia may benefit from a variety of patient education materials. Despite the availability of various resources, it is essential to assess the extent to which patients can comprehend the materials provided.

This study aims to evaluate the reliability and readability of the patient information leaflet (PIL) for schizophrenia.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted for a period of 6 months in the departments of psychiatry. Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were recruited for the study. A user-testing questionnaire was developed and validated with the help of an expert committee to assess reliability. Later, translated versions of the questionnaire were then administered to the patients based on their language preference and evaluated by test-retest analysis. The readability was assessed using pre-validated and translated versions of the PIL. Initially, baseline scores of patient knowledge were assessed using a reliable user-testing questionnaire. Later, their responses were reassessed again using the same questionnaire after reading the PIL.

A total of 45 patients participated in the study. From the total sample, 20 participants were randomly selected for reliability assessment. Intraclass-correlation coefficient (ICC), a statistical tool of reliability, give .6 for Kannada, .7 for Malayalam and 1 for the English version of the questionnaire. The overall patient's knowledge was found to be improved from 50.4 to 76.4 after reading the PIL.

Patients with schizophrenia were able to comprehend the information available on the PIL. Therefore, further research is needed to determine its efficacy in a larger population.