Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Translation, Validation and Reliability of the Malay Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool 2 (DKAT2-M) among Malaysian Caregivers

Abstract

Dementia is a growing public health concern globally and in Malaysia. Informal caregivers play a central role in care provision; however, limited knowledge may compromise the quality of care. The lack of a validated Malay-language instrument limits the assessment of caregiver knowledge.

To adapt, translate, and evaluate the validity and reliability of the Malay version of the Dementia Knowledge Assessment Tool Version 2 (DKAT2-M) among Malaysian informal caregivers.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 355 caregivers recruited from geriatric clinics at Hospital Kuala Lumpur and University Malaya Medical Centre. The 21-item DKAT2 underwent forward-backward translation, followed by content validation, face validation and pilot testing, exploratory factor analysis for

construct validity, and reliability testing.

Participants had a mean age of 51.96 years (SD = 15.73), with most being female, Malay, Muslim, married, and tertiary-educated. The DKAT2-M showed excellent content validity (I-CVI = 1.00 for all items; S-CVI/Ave = 0.992) and face validity (S-FVI/Ave = 1.00). Exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure: Dementia and Its Progress and Support and Care, explaining 30.8% variance (KMO = 0.871; Bartlett’s test, p < 0.001). Internal consistency was good (? = 0.868), and test-retest reliability demonstrated moderate to substantial agreement (? = 0.568–0.786). One item (Item 6) demonstrated low communality (0.182) but was retained due to acceptable factor loading (0.514) and conceptual relevance.

The DKAT2-M is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing dementia knowledge among Malaysian informal caregivers and may be useful in similar caregiver populations for clinical, educational, and research purposes.

  Keywords: Dementia, Caregivers, Health Knowledge, Validation, Malaysia