Development and validation of informed consent for blood transfusion questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient Safety
• Health Communication

Background:

• Informed consent for blood transfusion is crucial but patient knowledge is often suboptimal.
• Existing methods for assessing patient understanding of blood transfusion information are insufficient.
• This gap highlights the need for a validated tool to measure patient knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a questionnaire assessing patient knowledge of informed consent for blood transfusion.
• To provide a reliable instrument for evaluating patient comprehension of transfusion risks and benefits.
• To improve the quality of informed consent discussions in blood transfusion practices.

Main Methods:

• The Informed Consent for Blood Transfusion Questionnaire (ICBTQ) was developed through literature review, expert consultation, and content/face validity assessments.
• Psychometric properties were evaluated using reliability testing (Cronbach's Alpha) and item response theory (IRT) on 95 patients.
• The study involved content validity, face validity, reliability analysis, and IRT analysis for validation.

Main Results:

• The ICBTQ demonstrated excellent content and face validity, with a universal FVI of 0.96.
• Reliability analysis showed an acceptable Cronbach's Alpha value, indicating internal consistency.
• IRT analysis confirmed good item difficulty and discriminatory power, with all items fitting the model well.

Conclusions:

• The knowledge section of the ICBTQ is psychometrically valid for assessing patient understanding of blood transfusion informed consent.
• The validated ICBTQ can be used to identify knowledge deficits and improve patient education.
• This tool supports enhanced patient safety and autonomy in transfusion decision-making.