Development and validation of the Kilifi Epilepsy Beliefs and Attitude Scale.
Epilepsy remains misunderstood, particularly in resource poor countries (RPC). We developed and validated a tool to assess beliefs and attitudes about epilepsy among people with epilepsy (PWE) in Kilifi, Kenya. The 50-item scale was developed through a literature review and qualitative study findings, and its reliability and validity were assessed with 673 PWE. A final scale of 34 items had Cronbach's alpha scores for the five subscales: causes of epilepsy (α=0.71); biomedical treatment of epilepsy (α=0.70); cultural treatment of epilepsy (α=0.75); risk and safety concerns about epilepsy (α=0.56); and negative attitudes about epilepsy (α=0.76) and entire scale (α=0.70). Test-retest reliability was acceptable for all the subscales. The Kilifi Epilepsy Beliefs and Attitude Scale is a reliable and valid tool that measures beliefs and attitudes about epilepsy. It may be useful in other RPC or as a tool to assess the effectiveness of interventions to improve knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about epilepsy.
KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research (Coast), Kilifi, Kenya.
Caroline K
CK
Mbuba
Amina
A
Abubakar
Sally
S
Hartley
Peter
P
Odermatt
Charles R
CR
Newton
Julie A
JA
Carter
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003469:Culture; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult