Readability, stability, and internal consistency of a new psychometric inventory on evidence-based practice in physiotherapy

Abstract

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has, in the last decade, gained global prominence in health care professions because it provides the framework for lifelong and self-directed learning. These traits are crucial for the continued provision of quality health care. This study sets out to develop a culturally appropriate instrument to measure physiotherapists' knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors relative to the use of EBP and establish the instruments' psychometric properties. A 53-item EBP inventory that consisted of seven parts sociodemographic, EBP competence and behaviors, perceived knowledge of EBP, perceived skills and resources, attitudes about EBP, and barriers related to the use of EBP was created. Theinstrument was administered to 25 physiotherapists within a two-week interval on two occasions. The Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid scores for the instrument were 49.5 and 8.3, respectively. Its Cronbach alpha range from "fair" (0.333, p<.001) to "almost perfect" (0.837, p<.001). The test-retest (stability) scores for the instrument parts were significantly (?2 = 4.738, p<.038) different for only one (competence on EBP) of the seven factors. The overall findings revealed the instrument is relatively easy to comprehend, highly stable, and internally consistent. The availability of this instrument will promote further studies of EBP in physiotherapy.