Assessing Health Practitioner Knowledge of Appropriate Psychotropic Medication Use in Nursing Homes: Validation of the Older Age Psychotropic Quiz
Authors: Brown Donnamay Tegan , Westbury Juanita Louise 
Published: July 2016

How to Obtain Contact Hours by Reading This Article

Instructions

1.3
contact hours will be awarded by Villanova University College of Nursing upon successful completion of this activity. A contact hour is a unit of measurement that denotes 60 minutes of an organized learning activity. This is a learner-based activity. Villanova University College of Nursing does not require submission of your answers to the quiz. A contact hour certificate will be awarded once you register, pay the registration fee, and complete the evaluation form online at
http://goo.gl/gMfXaf
. To obtain contact hours you must:

1.
Read the article, “Assessing Health Practitioner Knowledge of Appropriate Psychotropic Medication Use in Nursing Homes: Validation of the Older Age Psychotropic Quiz” found on pages 21–27, carefully noting any tables and other illustrative materials that are included to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the content. Be sure to keep track of the amount of time (number of minutes) you spend reading the article and completing the quiz.

2.
Read and answer each question on the quiz. After completing all of the questions, compare your answers to those provided within this issue. If you have incorrect answers, return to the article for further study.

3.
Go to the Villanova website listed above to register for contact hour credit. You will be asked to provide your name; contact information; and a VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card number for payment of the $20.00 fee. Once you complete the online evaluation, a certificate will be automatically generated.

This activity is valid for continuing education credit until August 31, 2019.

Contact Hours
This activity is co-provided by Villanova University College of Nursing and SLACK Incorporated.
Villanova University College of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Activity Objectives

1.
Describe the scope and role of nursing in the appropriate administration of psychotropic medications in nursing homes.

2.
Explain the process of validating the Older Age Psychotropic Quiz and the strategy for determining assessment measures in the use of psychotropic medications.

Disclosure Statement
Neither the planners nor the authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

Despite widespread concern over psychotropic medication use, their regular administration continues in nursing homes. Consequently, it is vital that health practitioners in this setting have adequate knowledge of appropriate use. The Older Age Psychotropic Quiz (OAPQ) was developed to assess this knowledge, with psychometric testing reported herein. The 10-item OAPQ was constructed after substantial literature review and consultation with 10 experienced senior care professionals. Data from 36 nursing students, 461 nursing home staff, and 30 senior care pharmacists were used for validation analyses. Satisfactory construct validity was identified via the group comparison method (χ
2
[2,
n
= 101] = 79.21,
p
< 0.001). Internal reliability was strong (alpha = 0.89). Test–retest reliability was acceptable over time (
r
= 0.77). Factor analysis resulted in a two-factor solution. Psychometric analyses support the OAPQ for use in the nursing home setting. [
Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 42
(9), 21–27.]