Use of Rasch Wright map to understand the quality of Healthcare Workers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices for Uncomplicated Malaria (HKAPIUM)

Abstract

The present study assessed the dimensionality and item difficulty targeting to person ability of HKAPIUM scale using Rasch Wright map approach. A HKAPIUM instrument (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.71) containing eighteen (18)-items was administered to 121 trained healthcare professionals involved in the management of uncomplicated malaria in 24 selected primary health care (PHC) facilities in Plateau state, Nigeria. The respondents filled and returned the instrument and the data was analyzed using Bond&Fox software®. The Rasch principal components analysis (Rasch-PCA) of the item residuals indicated variance explained values of 52 (knowledge), 41.1 (attitudes), and 55.4 (practices) and eigenvalues of the first contrast as 1.2, 1.8, and 1.5, respectively, which were within acceptable values thatindicated the unidimensionality of the three constructs of the HKAPIUM scale. The result showed moderate items difficulty levels for all the three constructs. The mean person ability levels of respondents with-respect-to knowledge-related items were low, while their mean person ability levels in endorsing the attitudes and practices-related items were good. The study revealed unidimensionality of the 3 constructs of HKAPIUM scale, with observed mismatch between item difficulty levels of the constructs with most of the person ability levels of the respondents.