Postintensive care syndrome: Development and psychometric validation of a knowledge test

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Medical Education
• Patient Outcomes

Background:

• Postintensive Care Syndrome (PICS) encompasses a spectrum of morbidities affecting patients after ICU discharge.
• ICU professionals play a vital role in managing and understanding PICS.
• Assessing and improving ICU staff knowledge of PICS is essential for patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the PICS Knowledge Test (PICS-KT).
• To measure the awareness and knowledge levels of ICU professionals regarding PICS.
• To establish the reliability and validity of the PICS-KT.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search and analysis were conducted to create the PICS-KT draft.
• 117 ICU doctors and nurses with at least six months of experience participated.
• Validity and reliability were assessed using content validity ratio, item difficulty, item discrimination, and Cronbach's alpha.

Main Results:

• The 46-item PICS-KT achieved a high reliability coefficient of 0.93 (Cronbach's alpha).
• A score of 32 or higher indicates adequate PICS knowledge; scores below 14 suggest minimal knowledge.
• ICU professionals demonstrated strong knowledge regarding PICS interventions, with high scores in this subdimension.

Conclusions:

• The PICS-KT is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating healthcare professionals' understanding of PICS.
• The test effectively assesses knowledge across general information, risk factors, symptoms, and interventions related to PICS.
• The PICS-KT is crucial for identifying knowledge gaps and improving PICS management among ICU staff.