Measuring paediatric intensive care nursing knowledge in Australia and New Zealand: How the Basic Knowledge Assessment Tool for pediatric critical care nurses (PEDS-BKAT4) performs

Validated professional knowledge measures are limited in paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nursing. The Basic Knowledge Assessment Tool for Pediatric Critical Care Nurses (PEDS-BKAT4) measures knowledge, however content and practice differences exist between various PICUs. The study aim was to evaluate the PEDS-BKAT4 in the Australian and New Zealand setting. A panel of 10 experts examined item and scale content validity. Items were evaluated for 31 evidence-based item writing flaws and for cognitive level, by a 4-person expert panel. Thirty-six PICU nurses completed the PEDS-BKAT4, with reliability and item analysis conducted. Mean item content validity was 0.70, and 43% of items had content validity less than 0.8. Overall (Scale) content validity was 0.71. Thirty-five percent of items were classified as flawed. Thirty-five percent of items were written at the 'knowledge' level, and 58% at 'understanding'. The mean PEDS-BKAT4 score was 60.8 (SD. =9.6), KR-20 reliability 0.81. The mean item difficulty was 0.62, and the mean discrimination index was 0.23. The PEDS-BKAT4 was not a reliable and valid measure of basic PICU nursing knowledge in Australian and New Zealand. Further research into the types of knowledge and skills required of PICU nurses in this setting are needed to inform the development of a future tool.