Development of a scale to assess nurses' knowledge of stroke: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and test an evidence-based scale to assess nurses' knowledge of stroke.


METHODS
Question development by a multidisciplinary group of experts in stroke. Two self-completion questionnaire surveys.


METHODS
Two stroke units, one general medical and two elderly care wards in three hospitals in the North-East of England.


METHODS
Fifty-eight qualified nurses.


METHODS
Scale to assess nurses' knowledge of stroke.


RESULTS
The overall response rate was 60%. Nurses on stroke units knew more about stroke than those in medical/elderly care wards. The scale was capable of discriminating between stroke units and medical /elderly care wards: mean difference was 4.18 (95% confidence intervals 1.68-6.69; p <0.001). Cronbach's alpha was 0.7 indicating adequate internal consistency. Item non-response did not exceed 10% for any question.


CONCLUSIONS
We have developed a knowledge of stroke scale capable of discriminating between nurses based in stroke units and medical/elderly care wards, with low item non-response and adequate internal consistency. The scale is suitable for use as a component of studies evaluating the nursing of stroke patients.
Thomas
L
L
Centre for Health Services Research, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. L.H.Thomas@ncl.ac.uk
Harrington
K
K
Rogers
H
H
Langhorne
P
P
Smith
M
M
Bond
S
S
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D010865:Pilot Projects; D020521:Stroke / Q000451:nursing*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires