Brazilian Version of the ACE (Assessing Competencies in Evidence-Based Medicine) Tool: a Validation Study

Abstract: Introduction: The ACE (Assessing Competencies in Evidence-Based Medicine) Tool is a recently developed questionnaire to assess competencies in Evidence-Based Medicine. The aim of this study is to validate the Brazilian version of ACE Tool. Methods: This is a cross-sectional validation study carried out in two phases. In the first phase, the questionnaire was translated. In the second phase, the questionnaire was applied to undergraduate students and teachers/preceptors of the medical course. The evaluated properties were internal validity, consistency and reliability. Results: 76 medical undergraduate students and 12 teachers/preceptors were included. The mean of teachers/preceptors was significantly higher than that of students (10.25±1.71 vs 8.73±1.80, mean difference of 1.52, 95%CI 0.47-2.57, p=0.005), demonstrating construct validity. The Brazilian version of the ACE Tool obtained adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.61) and reliability (item-total correlation ≥ 0.15 in 14 of the 15 items). Conclusion: The Brazilian version of the ACE Tool shows acceptable psychometric properties and can be used as an instrument to assess competencies for Evidence-Based Medicine in Brazilian medical students.