Psychometric evaluation of the Program Evaluation Instrument

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Program Evaluation
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Continuing education program evaluations often lack psychometric rigor.
• There is a need for reliable instruments to measure the quality of continuing education.
• The Program Evaluation Instrument (PEI) was developed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Program Evaluation Instrument (PEI).
• To assess the reliability and validity of the PEI for continuing education programs.

Main Methods:

• A 19-item instrument with four theoretical subscales was administered to 566 participants.
• Principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation was used.
• Reliability was assessed using coefficient alphas.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis identified two interpretable factors: Preparation and Presentation, and Usefulness.
• Coefficient alphas were .94 for Preparation and Presentation, and .70 for Usefulness.
• The results indicate potential areas for item revision.

Conclusions:

• The PEI shows promise but requires further psychometric evaluation and item revision.
• Improved instruments are crucial for valid quality assessment of continuing education programs.
• Further research should focus on refining the PEI's psychometric properties.