Development and validation of the Pre-hospital Stroke Symptoms Coping Test

Qiuli Zhao; Li Yang; Xiao Zhang; Xuemei Zhu; Qingqing Zuo; Yanni Wu; Liu Yang; Wei Gao; Minghui Li; Shanshan Cheng

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110022

Development and validation of the Pre-hospital Stroke Symptoms Coping Test

PLoS One. 2014 Oct 17;9(10):e110022. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110022. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Qiuli Zhao¹, Li Yang¹, Xiao Zhang¹, Xuemei Zhu¹, Qingqing Zuo¹, Yanni Wu², Liu Yang¹, Wei Gao¹, Minghui Li¹, Shanshan Cheng¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
² Department of Nursing department, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.

Abstract

Background and purpose: Measures of specific knowledge of coping with pre-hospital stroke symptoms can help educate high-risk patients and family caregivers. This study aimed to develop and validate the Pre-hospital Stroke Symptoms Coping Test (PSSCT).

Materials and methods: Reliability and validity were analyzed using multiple data sources. The Delphi expert consultation method was applied to assess the test's surface validity and content validity index. The final edition of the 19-item PSSCT contained 3 sections assessing coping with typical symptoms and symptoms associated with vomiting and twitching. Its psychometric properties were investigated in a community sample of 300 high-risk patients and family members.

Results: The PSSCT was readily accepted by participants. It demonstrated adequate surface validity and content validity, and good internal consistency (KR20 = 0.822) and test-retest reliability (0.769), with difficulty (P) and degree of differentiation (D) ranges of 0.28-0.83 and 0.15-0.66, respectively. It was also able to distinguish between individuals who had/had not experienced a stroke. Experienced individuals scored significantly higher overall and on coping with typical symptoms and twitching (P<0.01).

Conclusions: The PSSCT can practically and directly assess critical knowledge regarding coping with pre-hospital stroke symptoms and has good reliability and validity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Validation Study

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Aged
Emergency Medical Services / methods*
Emergency Medical Services / standards
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Education as Topic
Stroke / diagnosis*
Stroke / psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*

Grants and funding

The development and evaluation of the PSSCT was supported by a grant from the China National Natural Science Foundation (Grant No: 81273194). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.