Validation of the Adapted German Versions of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool 2, the Dementia Attitude Scale, and the Confidence in Dementia Scale for the General Population.

backgroundThere are almost no validated tools in German that assess dementia knowledge, attitude toward dementia, and confidence in the general population.

objectiveTranslation and validation of the German version of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool 2 (DKAT2), the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS), and the Confidence in Dementia Scale (CODE).

methodsInstruments were translated into German and adapted for the general public. A convenience sample of 263 persons was recruited via an online platform. Validation of the tools' psychometric properties consisted of an assessment of its reliability (internal consistency and 4-week test-retest reliability of a subgroup with n = 110), an analysis of its construct validity through principal component analysis and known-group analysis, convergent validity, and an item analysis for DKAT2-D. This study used the STROBE checklist for reporting.

resultsAcceptable to excellent internal reliability was found for DAS-D (α= 0.90), DKAT2-D (α= 0.78), and CODE-D (α= 0.93). The principal component analysis confirmed the two-factor model for the DAS-D as well as the one-factor solution for CODE-D. The intra-class correlation coefficient between the first and the 4-week retest was good (CODE-D: 0.897; 0.849-0.929) to excellent (DKAT2-D: 0.918; 0.879-0.945 and DAS-D: 0.940; 0.910-0.960). Known-group analysis revealed that DAS-D, DKAT-D, and CODE-D could distinguish between individuals with or without experience with people with dementia and with or without participation in a dementia course.

conclusionThe German versions DAS-D, DKAT2-D, and CODE-D are reliable and valid tools to measure knowledge, attitude, and confidence in dementia in the German-speaking general population.