Assessment tools for evaluating nursing students' knowledge on HIV prophylaxis: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Knowledge of HIV prophylaxis is crucial for nursing students to effectively implement prevention strategies.
• Existing instruments for assessing this knowledge require critical appraisal of their measurement properties.
• The development and validation of reliable tools are essential for evaluating educational interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map instruments that assess nursing students' knowledge of HIV prophylaxis.
• To critically evaluate the measurement properties of these instruments using the COSMIN framework.
• To identify gaps in the current assessment of HIV prevention knowledge among nursing students.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
• Systematic searches were performed across multiple databases (PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, Google Scholar) up to August 2025.
• Two independent reviewers selected studies, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality (MMAT) and instrument quality (COSMIN).

Main Results:

• Nine studies published between 2014-2025, involving 2302 nursing students, met the inclusion criteria.
• Only four studies provided adequate validation details for their instruments.
• Most instruments were online, used Likert scales or assertive questions, with limited assessment of knowledge retention.

Conclusions:

• Instruments for assessing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) knowledge among nursing students have recently emerged.
• Significant methodological and implementation gaps exist in these assessment tools.
• Further research is needed to evaluate the utility of these instruments in educational interventions to enhance HIV prevention competencies.