Development and psychometric evaluation of the brief HIV Knowledge Questionnaire

AIDS Educ Prev. 2002 Apr;14(2):172-82. doi: 10.1521/aeap.14.2.172.23902.

Abstract

This research evaluated the psychometric properties of a brief self-report measure of HIV-related knowledge, the 18-item HIV Knowledge Questionnaire (HIV-KQ-18). Low-income men and women (N = 1,019) responded to 27 items that represented the domain of interest. Item analyses indicated that 18 items, with item-total correlations ranging from .24 to .57, be retained. Additional analyses demonstrated the HIV-KQ-18's internal consistency across samples (alphas = .75-.89), test-retest stability across several intervals (rs = .76- .94), and strong associations with a much longer, previously validated measure (rs = .93-.97). Data from three clinical trials indicated that the HIV-KQ-18 detected knowledge gains in treated participants when compared to untreated controls. We conclude that the HIV-KQ-18 is internally consistent, stable, sensitive to the change resulting from intervention, and suitable for use with low-literacy populations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Demography
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / prevention & control*
  • HIV Infections / psychology
  • HIV Infections / transmission*
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pilot Projects
  • Poverty
  • Psychometrics*
  • Risk Factors
  • Risk-Taking
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • United States