Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge Questionnaire

Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge Questionnaire

Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge Questionnaire (MSKQ) is a 25-item self administered questionnaire assessing a patient's level of knowledge regarding multiple sclerosis (MS). Turkish translation of the questionnaire was prepared and participants in the annual patient education seminar in the investigators' university hospital were asked to answer these questions before and after the seminar.Their results were analysed to assess their level of knowledge about their disease.

Multiple sclerosis knowledge questionnaire was developed in Italy (1) and was reported to be useful in measuring patients' level of knowledge about their disease. The English version of the questionnaire was translated into Turkish by three physicians than back translated into English by two separate linguists. Initially 5 MS patients were asked to answer this first version of the questionnaire and report any difficulties in understanding the items. Their feedback was used to give the questionnaire its final shape. For the validation stage, patients that were diagnosed as having MS and who attended the annual MS patient education seminar were enrolled into the study. They answered the questions twice, before and after the seminar. Their answers were analysed to measure their level of knowledge about their disease.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed as having Multiple Sclerosis
• Attends the annual patient education seminar at the investigators' university hospital
• Older than 18 years of age
• Can read and write

Exclusion Criteria:

• Does not accept to answer the questionnaire
• Unable to answer the questions due to a cognitive impairment