Home Research Research Library The American Board of Family Medicine’s 8 Years of Experience with Differential Item Functioning The American Board of Family Medicine’s 8 Years of Experience with Differential Item Functioning 2022 Author(s) O’Neill, Thomas R, Wang, Ting, and Newton, Warren P Topic(s) Education & Training, and Family Medicine Certification Keyword(s) Cognitive Expertise, and Psychometrics Volume Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Source Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine INTRODUCTION: Differential item functioning (DIF) procedures flag examination questions in which examinees from different subpopulations who are of equal ability do not have the same probability of answering it correctly. Few medical certification boards employ DIF procedures because they do not collect the needed data on the examinee’s race or ethnicity. This article summarizes the American Board of Family Medicine’s (ABFM) combined use of DIF procedures and an expert panel to review certification questions for bias. METHODS: ABFM certification examination data from 2013 to 2020 were analyzed using a DIF procedure to flag questions with possible ethnic or racial bias. The flagged questions were reviewed by a racially and ethnically diverse panel of content experts. If the panel judged the source of the DIF was not clinically relevant for the practice of family medicine, the question was removed from the examination. RESULTS: Out of the 3487 questions analyzed, 374 unique questions (11%) were flagged by DIF procedures as potentially biased. Of the flagged questions, the review panel felt 4 should be removed for fairness. DISCUSSION: Using DIF procedures and panel review can improve the quality of the board certification questions and demonstrate the organization’s commitment to avoid racial or ethnic bias. ABFM Research Read all 2019 Comparison of AR, ITS, CBT, and Didactic Training and Evaluation of Retinopathy-Based Diagnosis Go to Comparison of AR, ITS, CBT, and Didactic Training and Evaluation of Retinopathy-Based Diagnosis 1981 Contempo ’81. Family practice Go to Contempo ’81. Family practice 2014 A Retrospective Analysis of the Relationship between Medical Student Debt and Primary Care Practice in the United States. Go to A Retrospective Analysis of the Relationship between Medical Student Debt and Primary Care Practice in the United States. 2016 Transforming physician certification to support physician self-motivation and capacity to improve quality and safety Go to Transforming physician certification to support physician self-motivation and capacity to improve quality and safety
Author(s) O’Neill, Thomas R, Wang, Ting, and Newton, Warren P Topic(s) Education & Training, and Family Medicine Certification Keyword(s) Cognitive Expertise, and Psychometrics Volume Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Source Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2019 Comparison of AR, ITS, CBT, and Didactic Training and Evaluation of Retinopathy-Based Diagnosis Go to Comparison of AR, ITS, CBT, and Didactic Training and Evaluation of Retinopathy-Based Diagnosis 1981 Contempo ’81. Family practice Go to Contempo ’81. Family practice 2014 A Retrospective Analysis of the Relationship between Medical Student Debt and Primary Care Practice in the United States. Go to A Retrospective Analysis of the Relationship between Medical Student Debt and Primary Care Practice in the United States. 2016 Transforming physician certification to support physician self-motivation and capacity to improve quality and safety Go to Transforming physician certification to support physician self-motivation and capacity to improve quality and safety
2019 Comparison of AR, ITS, CBT, and Didactic Training and Evaluation of Retinopathy-Based Diagnosis Go to Comparison of AR, ITS, CBT, and Didactic Training and Evaluation of Retinopathy-Based Diagnosis
2014 A Retrospective Analysis of the Relationship between Medical Student Debt and Primary Care Practice in the United States. Go to A Retrospective Analysis of the Relationship between Medical Student Debt and Primary Care Practice in the United States.
2016 Transforming physician certification to support physician self-motivation and capacity to improve quality and safety Go to Transforming physician certification to support physician self-motivation and capacity to improve quality and safety
