Adaptation of the CONOCES-BLS scale to citizens: evidence of content validity and preliminary psychometric evaluation.

INTRODUCTION

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest constitutes a high-priority health emergency. The evidence underlines the importance of early actions of bystanders through the activation of the emergency system, basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and defibrillation. Nevertheless, basic life support training in the general population is irregular, and limitations exist on the availability of validated instruments to assess knowledge in this area.

OBJECTIVE

To adapt the CONOCES-BLS scale for use in the adult general population and to obtain initial evidence supporting its content validity through expert consensus, followed by a preliminary psychometric evaluation.

METHOD: Methodological study on the adaptation and content validity and preliminary test of the instrument in three phases. In the first, the items were adapted to the context of an adult citizen. Then, content validity was assessed through a Delphi panel, and lastly, a pilot test was conducted for the initial psychometric analysis.

RESULTS

The content validity showed high levels of agreement, >0.90 in every item, and K* coefficients between 0.91 and 1, providing initial evidence supporting the content validity of the adapted instrument. All the items were considered essential, although item ES12 was less clear (0.71). In the psychometric analysis, the scale obtained a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82, demonstrating an adequate internal consistency. Items with a lower contribution to the construct were identified, especially ES2 and ES5.

CONCLUSION

The adapted CONOCES-BLS-Citizens scale provides initial evidence supporting its content validity for assessing BLS knowledge in the adult general population. As the first instrument specifically adapted for this purpose, it may support the evaluation of community BLS knowledge. Further studies are needed to strengthen the psychometric evidence supporting its use.