Validation of a German short version of the Attitudes towards Patient Safety Questionnaire (G-APSQshort) for the measurement of undergraduate medical students' attitudes to and needs for patient safety

Introduction: Topics of patient safety are being taught increasingly within medical eudcation. To date, however, there is no suitable means of measuring the status quo of medical students' attitudes towards patient safety in German-speaking Europe. The German validation of a short version of the Attitude towards Patient Safety Questionnaire (G-APSQshort) is meant to fill this gap with the aid of two validation studies. Methods: In Study 1, item and reliability analyses were used to examine internal consistency as well as factorial structure. In Study 2, the measurement sensitivity of the G-APSQshort in detecting changes in attitudes was assessed. Results: Study 1 comprised N=83 participants (M=23.16 years; 21 female). Adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's α=.722-.903) was reached in 6 of the seven subscales. The factor analysis showed that the six extracted factors matched the theoretically conceived subscales. Study 2 comprised N=21 participants (M=26 years; 11 female). A multivariate analysis of variance showed that the differences before and after a short-term intervention were significant with medium effect size (F(1;16)=6.675; p<.05; η2=.29). Discussion: In six subscales, the G-APSQshort can be considered valid in respect to measuring point and change. It is hoped that regular and concerted implementation of measuring instruments such as the G-APSQshort will help to develop a common ground for data comparison among many different German-speaking medical faculties.