Developing a valid and reliable assessment of knowledge translation (KT) for continuing professional development program of health professionals

Abstract

IntroductionKnowledge Translation (KT) is expected to be a critical learning outcome of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. It continues to serve as an area of interest among educators and healthcare providers due to its importance to evidence-based practice. This study endeavored to develop a valid and reliable KT learning assessment tool in CPD.MethodsThe Inventory of Reflective Vignettes (IRV), an innovative approach of integrating research vignettes, was utilized in crafting the 20-item IRV-KT tool. This instrument includes knowledge creation and action as essential KT constructs. KT competency was assessed in three segments (i.e., before and after CPD event and if in a lecture) using a one-group post-posttest pre-experimental design. Health professionals who successfully completed a CPD program on a knowledge translation topic were asked to complete the IRV-KT during the pilot study (n = 10) and actual implementation (n = 45). Responses were subjected to Cronbach’s reliability and criterion-validity testing.ResultsThe initial test of the IRV-KT tool demonstrated a high internal reliability (α = 0.97) and most items yielded acceptable validity scores. During the actual implementation, a higher reliability score of 0.98 was generated with significant correlations between the before-after segments for both KT constructs of creation (r = 0.33, p < 0.05) and action (r = 0.49, p < 0.05). All items have significant positive validity coefficients (r > 0.35, p < 0.05) in all segments of the tool.DiscussionThe study produced a reflective assessment tool to validly and reliably assess KT learning in a CPD. IRV-KT is seen to guide the curriculum process of CPD programs to bridge learning and healthcare outcomes.

Technagogy-enhanced continuing professional development (CPD) for health professionals: design and evaluation

“…This research utilized the work of Menon et al (2010) for instrument development, consisting of four phases, namely (a) item generation, (b) face and content validation, (c) pilot testing, and (d) final revisions. Notably, this used the Inventory of Reflective Vignette (IRV) framework by Ong et al (2018Ong et al ( , 2019 in developing a reflective evaluation tool. The IRV Evaluation (IRV-E) tool (see "Appendix 1") featured a 6-point Likert-type scale using a post-posttest design that allows concurrent evaluation of their (a) expectations before a program, (b) assessment after the program, and (c) reflection if they joined a lecture program.…”