Adaptation and validation of the Evidence-based Practice Profile Questionnaire (EBP2Q) for clinical postgraduates in a Chinese context

Abstract

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an essential approach of optimizing patient outcomes and driving progress in clinical practice. As an important reserve talent of medical staff and researchers, the clinical postgraduates are expected to become the backbones of supporting the implementation of EBP in clinical units after graduation. The assessment of their EBP learning outcomes is an important issue, yet few tools have been developed specifically in Mainland China. The purpose of this study is to adapt the Evidence-Based Practice Profile Questionnaire (EBP²Q) to Mainland China's cultural context and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese EBP²Q in clinical postgraduates.

Methods: Cross-cultural modification, including translating the original EBP²Q into Chinese was implemented according to established guidelines. A pilot study was carried out in Mainland China among 30 clinical postgraduates. A subsequent validation study was conducted among 633 clinical postgraduates majoring in clinical medicine, stomatology and nursing from Mainland China. Construct validity was assessed by exploratory factor analysis (n = 313), together with confirmatory factor analysis (n = 320). Reliability was determined by internal consistency and test-retest reliability.

Results: The Chinese EBP²Q consisted of 40 items. The content validity index of the Chinese EBP²Q achieved 0.938 at an acceptable level. Principal component analysis resulted in a four-factor structure explaining 61.586% of the total variance. All fitting indices satisfied the standard based upon confirmatory factor analyses, indicating that the four-factor structure contributed to an ideal model fit. The internal consistency appeared high for the Chinese EBP²Q, reaching a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.926. Test-retest reliability was 0.868 and the split-half coefficient was 0.925.

Conclusion: Chinese version of EBP²Q possesses adequate validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency. It is a promising questionnaire to be adopted by Chinese medical educators in designing their course and curriculum, or by clinical postgraduates for self-assessment of EBP learning.

Keywords: Clinical postgraduates; Evidence-based practice; Professional degree postgraduates; Reliability; Validity.