Psychometric Validation of HIV/AIDS Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Scale Among Nursing Students in Ghana.

Background and Purpose: HIV/AIDS is a major public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, posing high occupational risks for nurses. There are limited validated instruments that assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) in African nursing education contexts. This study adapted and validated a relevant HIV/AIDS KAP instrument for nursing students in northern Ghana.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 373 nursing students in northern Ghana. Construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis, and internal consistency was measured using coefficient of alpha.

Results

All the subscales of KAP demonstrated acceptable to good internal consistency (α = .712-.815). Item-level analysis confirmed the instrument's coherence and reliability.

Conclusions

The scale demonstrated strong psychometric properties and is suitable for assessing HIV/AIDS-related competencies among nursing students in Ghana. Future studies should confirm the factor structure of the scale.