title: MSHAKE. A tool for measuring staff knowledge related to geriatric mental health.
abstract: This article describes the development of a knowledge-screening instrument used with staff caring for elderly patients with neuropsychiatric disability. A 25-item tool, referred to as the Mary Starke Harper Aging Knowledge Exam (MSHAKE), was developed to verify knowledge competencies of 171 employees at a geropsychiatric center in the Southeastern United States. The MSHAKE assesses basic geriatric mental health knowledge in an educationally diverse health care work force. A variety of descriptive and inferential statistics provide preliminary evidence supporting the use of the MSHAKE as an effective measure of staff members' essential knowledge of aging and neuropsychiatric disorders. This tool has practical application in the clinical setting as part of a competency verification system or in-service evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Capstone College of Nursing, The University of Alabama, Box 870358, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Santo-Novak
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Grissom
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Powers
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel / Q000193:education; D000368:Aged; D000407:Alabama; D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D005852:Geriatric Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009740:Nursing Staff; D013192:Staff Development