Purpose of the Questionnaire

The aim is to assess children’s knowledge regarding their illness. It is used by psychologists, pediatricians, and other professionals.

Questionnaire Analysis

The present questionnaire (KIQ-6) was developed by Bibace and Walsh in 1980 and consists of six questions that evaluate how informed individuals are about their illness and health, based on Piaget’s three developmental stages (1997). It is divided into two types: one for children aged 6 to 12 and another for adolescents aged 13 to 18. It is often used in parallel with a disease-specific knowledge questionnaire, for example, the Cancer Knowledge Questionnaire.

Scoring and Statistical Analysis of the Questionnaire

Scoring is based on a scale developed by Bibace and Walsh (1980). Answers are categorized according to developmental understanding: the preoperational stage corresponds to a phenomenological view; contagion is associated with transmission; the concrete operational stage corresponds to contamination; internalization aligns with assimilation; the formal operational stage corresponds to cognitive logic; and the psychophysiological stage is the most advanced. Each category is scored on a scale from 0 to 6, where 0 indicates an unscorable answer and 6 reflects a response that demonstrates a psychophysiological understanding of illness. This method assesses children’s knowledge of serious diseases, with higher scores indicating greater awareness of their illness. The questionnaire has been used in Greece by Greek physicians to validate the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS), and its translation followed both forward and backward translation methods.

Validity and Reliability

The content validity of the tool was high, as evidenced by a high reliability index with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92.

References

Bibace, R., & Walsh, M. E. (1980). Development of children’s concepts of illness. Pediatrics, 66(6), 912–917. Brihmat, N., Tarri, M., Gasq, D., Marque, P., Castel-Lacanal, E., & Loubinoux, I. (2020). Cross-modal functional connectivity of the premotor cortex reflects residual motor output after stroke. Brain Connectivity, 10(5), 236–249. Liossi, C., & Hatira, P. (1999). Clinical hypnosis versus cognitive behavioral training for pain management with pediatric cancer patients undergoing bone marrow aspirations. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 47(2), 104–116. Prokopiadou, D., Papadakaki, M., Roumeliotaki, T., Komninos, I. D., Bastas, C., Iatraki, E., … & Lionis, C. (2015). Translation and validation of a questionnaire to assess the diagnosis and management of dementia in Greek general practice. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 38(2), 151–159.