Epilepsy knowledge scale for parents (EKS-P): Development and psychometric evaluation in Turkish sample.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Psychometrics
• Health Education

Background:

• Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological condition affecting 0.5%-1% of children globally.
• Assessing parental knowledge is crucial for effective management and support of children with epilepsy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop the "Epilepsy Knowledge Scale for Parents" (EKS-P).
• To evaluate the content validity of the EKS-P.
• To assess the psychometric properties of the EKS-P.

Main Methods:

• A methodological study was conducted in a tertiary hospital's pediatric neurology clinic in Turkey.
• The study involved 500 parents of children with epilepsy across two stages: validity/reliability analysis and scale scoring.
• Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses were used for scale development and validation.

Main Results:

• The final EKS-P consists of 29 items across three dimensions, explaining 62.83% of the variance.
• The scale demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.885) and acceptable/good fit indices in Confirmatory Factor Analysis.
• A cutoff score of 15.50 was established, with 55.6% sensitivity and 80.2% specificity.

Conclusions:

• The "Epilepsy Knowledge Scale for Parents" (EKS-P) is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing parental knowledge of epilepsy in the Turkish population.
• The EKS-P is recommended for use in clinical practice and research involving parents of children with epilepsy.