title: The Pieper-Zulkowski pressure ulcer knowledge test.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development and initial testing of the Pieper-Zulkowski Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test (PZ-PUKT).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional, instrument testing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital association pressure ulcer educational program conference.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pressure ulcer research and guidelines from the last 5 years were examined for test item content. The initial PZ-PUKT had 115 items; response options were "true," "false," and "don't know." Registered nurses (N = 108) were randomly divided into 2 groups to take either the 60 prevention/risk and staging items or the 55 wound description items. Analyses of these responses resulted in 72 items, which were administered in total to a second cohort of 98 nurses for reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cronbach's α was .80 for the 72-item PZ-PUKT. Cronbach's α values for the subscales were as follows: staging, .67; wound description, .64; and prevention/risk, .56. The mean correct scores were as follows: total, 80%; prevention, 77%; staging, 86%; and wound description, 77%. Nurses with wound care certification scored significantly higher on the PZ-PUKT than did nurses with other clinical certifications or with nurses who lacked certification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PZ-PUKT has updated content about pressure ulcer prevention/risk, staging, and wound description. Reliability values are highest for the total test. Further use of the instrument in diverse settings will add to reliability testing and may provide direction for determination of a passing cutoff score.
authors.affiliation: Barbara Pieper, PhD, RN, CWOCN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, is Professor/Nurse Practitioner, College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Karen Zulkowski, DNS, RN, is Associate Professor, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana. Dr Pieper has disclosed that she has no financial relationships related to this article. Dr Zulkowski has disclosed that she is remunerated for providing expert testimony and was a member of the speakers' bureau for Derma Sciences and Hill-Rom. Submitted May 6, 2014; accepted in revised form June 13, 2014.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pieper
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zulkowski
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000451:nursing*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires