Adaptation and validation of the HIV Knowledge Questionnaire-18 for the general population of Indonesia

Background: Despite a global decline in new HIV/AIDS cases in low-middle countries, cases are increasing in Indo- nesia. Low knowledge about the disease among the general population is one of the major factors responsible for this trend. Indonesia does not have a validated instrument to assess HIV/AIDS knowledge. The HIV Knowledge Ques- tionnaire-18 (HIV-KQ-18) has been translated into several languages and is one of the most extensively used instru- ments for assessing HIV/AIDS knowledge. This paper describes the process of adapting and validating the HIV-KQ-18, an instrument to assess the level of HIV/AIDS knowledge in the general population of Indonesia.
Methods: In the adaptation phase, feedback for the initial Bahasa Indonesia version was gathered from two HIV activists, an obstetrician, two general practitioners, and 60 pilot participants. At the validation stage, we distributed the instrument link via Google Form to 6 major regions in Indonesia. Validity was measured using known-group valid- ity and construct validity. The construct validity was assessed using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a poly- choric correlation matrix. Cronbach’s alpha was used to analyze the internal consistency.
Results: Based on the fndings in the adaptation phase, additional descriptions (namely synonyms or examples) were added to 6 items to make them more understandable. In the validation phase, 1,249 participants were recruited. The a priori hypothesis in known-group validity was supported. We also found three items that did not meet the construct validity. Based on the acceleration factor approach to interpret the scree tree in the factor analysis, using only two fac- tors was preferable. Cronbach’s alpha values were 0.75 and 0.71 representing good internal reliability.
Conclusion: The HIV-KQ-18 Bahasa Indonesia is considered a valid and reliable instrument to assess the level of HIV/ AIDS knowledge in Indonesia.