Reliability of Instruments for Measuring the Clinical and Differential Diagnosis of Leprosy in Pediatric Patients

Abstract

Introduction: The frequency of leprosy in pediatric patients is higher than previously thought, and it reveals the active circulation of the bacillus in the community and the failure of control strategies. It is essential for physicians to acquire skills for its clinical and differential diagnosis.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of two instruments that measure the skills of family medicine residents in the clinical and differential diagnosis of leprosy in pediatric patients.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2025 at the Julio Castillo Teaching Polyclinic in Chambas, Ciego de Ávila. Two instruments are proposed to measure skills for the clinical and differential diagnosis of leprosy in pediatric patients: a survey and an observation guide. The reliability and internal consistency of the instruments were estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

Results: A Cronbach's alpha value of 0.83 was obtained for both the survey and the observation guide, and the highest item standard deviation values for each instrument were 0.408 and 0.542, respectively. When one item was deleted from both instruments, no significant change in Cronbach's alpha coefficient was observed that would suggest eliminating or reformulating items.

Conclusions: The degree of reliability obtained with the application of both instruments showed a correlation between the items evaluated and the reliability of the data, making both instruments reliable.