Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of Osteoporosis Knowledge Tool-Arabic Version Among Iraqi Population

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem as the majority of people are not aware of the disease until the complications occur.

The aims of this study were to validate Osteoporosis Knowledge Tool (OKT-A) Arabic version and to assess the osteoporosis knowledge among Iraqi general population.

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in the city of Baghdad with a random cluster sampling method from the community. Forward–backward-forward translation method was used to translate the OKT questionnaire from English into Arabic language. The psychometric assessment process includes: face validity, reliability (Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest), item difficulty index, point biserial correlation and discriminatory power.

The results showed good face validity. The Cronbach’s alpha and Pearson correlation coefficient of the test re-test reliability were 0.775 and 0.412, respectively. Item difficulty index, point biserial correlation ranges and discriminatory power were 0.105 to 0.852, 0.105 to 0.445 and 0.933, respectively. These results demonstrated that OKT-A was a reliable and stable tool. The results showed low OKT-A scores 11.50±3.958. Furthermore, the OKT-A scores and its subscales were less than 50%. In addition, there were significant differences between the following independent variables in relation to total OKT-A scores: educational level, do you have osteoporosis or ever heard about osteoporosis. Moreover, there was a significant association between ever heard about osteoporosis groups and the OKT-A knowledge levels.

This study showed good validity and reliability of OKT-A tool among Arabic general population. In addition, the results showed an urgent need for implementing an educational programme and should be a public health practice to increase the knowledge toward osteoporosis and its related risk factor.