Developing and Validating a Knowledge Questionnaire of Blood Sampling via Central Vascular Access Devices

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Medical Device Safety
• Health Professional Education

Background:

• Central vascular access devices (CVADs) are crucial for patient care but require specific knowledge for safe use.
• Accurate blood sampling from CVADs is essential for effective patient management and treatment.
• Assessing and improving nursing knowledge regarding CVAD procedures is vital for patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a knowledge questionnaire for registered nurses on blood sampling via CVADs.
• To utilize both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Rasch analysis for robust psychometric evaluation.
• To create a clinically meaningful tool for assessing nursing competency in CVAD blood sampling.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 445 registered nurses.
• Application of Classical Test Theory (CTT) for reliability and validity assessment.
• Rasch analysis to confirm unidimensionality and evaluate item/person fit.

Main Results:

• A final 23-item questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.825) and content validity.
• Rasch analysis confirmed a unidimensional structure with excellent item reliability (0.97).
• Excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.964) and good person reliability (0.69) were observed.

Conclusions:

• The developed questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing nurses' knowledge of CVAD blood sampling.
• The tool possesses strong psychometric properties and clinical relevance for nursing education and practice.
• Findings support further international validation in larger patient populations.