Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards COVID-19: Research to develop a measuring instrument

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals about COVID-19 and to develop a valid and reliable scale that can measure these items about COVID-19 and other similar pandemic processes. Design: Methodological scale study with a quantitative approach. Participants: 415 individuals in the first phase and 367 in the retest phase. Interventions: Carried out between March 1, 2021, and April 30, 2021. Main measurements: Reliability and factor analyses were performed and validity was evaluated. In factor analysis, a scale with 4 factors and 30 questions was obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to the factor scores of the scale. Factors were named AGeneral Culture, B-Mask, Distance and Cleanliness, C-Mental Status, and D-Way of Information. A 3-point Likert-type scoring system was created for the responses. Results: Cronbach???s alpha value was 0.894. In factor modeling, 3 of the confirmatory factor analysis fit indices were good and 4 of them were acceptable, so our model was found to be appropriate. The scale was highly reliable, according to internal and external consistency coefficients. The scale was named the Turkey COVID-19 Attitude Scale. p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Conclusions: The valid and reliable Turkey COVID-19 Attitude Scale, which we developed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals about COVID-19, can be used to guide research during COVID-19 and future pandemics. ?? 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Espan??a, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).