O-Know Opioid Knowledge Test: Development and Psychometric Testing in a Community Setting

ABSTRACT

Given the various sources and consequences of opioid use disorder (OUD) stigma, the mechanisms by which stigma occurs becomes more important. Educational deficits regarding OUD as a disease and treatment influence OUD stigma. The purpose of the study was to develop, pilot test and psychometrically evaluate the Opioid-Knowledge (O-Know) test in a community setting. A social media strategy was used to recruit 294 participants, in 2019, from a midwestern region experiencing an HIV epidemic, stemming from opioid and injection drug use. The Factor analysis used a tetrachoric correlation matrix, with principal axis factor extraction and Promax rotation. Horn’s parallel analysis supported the factorial validity of a two-factor model representing OUD as a Disease (Cronbach’s alpha = .57) and OUD Treatment and Recovery (Cronbach’s alpha = .62). The reliability estimates were deemed adequate given the intended group-level uses for the instrument. Convergent construct validity was partially supported via the OUD Treatment and Recovery factor’s negative correlation with personal opioid stigmatization (B = −.29, p =.001). OUD research must produce measures that convert observations to empirical generalizations. The psychometric analysis of the O-Know scale demonstrated progress in reducing measurement error to facilitate that conversion.

KEYWORDS:

• O-Know test
• opioid use disorder
• education
• stigma
• psychometric
• knowledge

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2022.2147883

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Indiana Nurses Foundation, there are no conflicts of interest