Improvement of General Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale Based on Health Belief Model

IntroductionThe Health Belief Model (HBM) can be used as a guide in enhancing the peoples' awareness, improving the motivation, and providing tools that address beliefs and attitudes toward general disaster preparedness (GDP).

METHODS

The aim of this study was to improve and re-test all psychometric properties of the published General Disaster Preparedness Belief (GDPB) scale based on HBM carried out in the general population. This scale development study measured by 58 items was prepared under the same structure of the developed GDPB scale that measured 31 items before. This expanded scale was applied to 973 individuals. Firstly, the data from application of the expanded scale was examined under Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Then, the estimations obtained from Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for the expanded scale with 45 items were compared with the estimations obtained from the previous scale with 31 items.

RESULTS

The EFA lead to the removal of 13 items and the retention of 45 items. The items which the factor loadings were below 0.30 and which gave the factor loadings for more dimension were excluded from the data set. A model measured six dimensions with 45 items was hypothesized: six items under perceived susceptibility, four items under perceived severity, six items under perceived benefits, 14 items under perceived barriers, five items under cues to action, and 10 items under self-efficacy. For CFA results, all estimations for factor loadings were significant. The scale with 45 items obtained in this study fit because Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), and Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI) were over 0.95.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the scale with 45 items shows improvement in the scale with 31 items. This study indicates that the GDPB scale with 45 items based on HBM has acceptable validity and reliability. This tool can be used in disaster preparedness surveys. InalE, DoganN. Improvement of General Disaster Preparedness Belief scale based on Health Belief Model. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(6):627-636.

Workplace nutrition knowledge questionnaire: psychometric validation and application

Workplace dietary intervention studies in low- and middle-income countries using psychometrically sound measures are scarce. This study aimed to validate a nutrition knowledge questionnaire (NQ) and its utility in evaluating the changes in knowledge among participants of a Nutrition Education Program (NEP) conducted at the workplace. A NQ was tested for construct validity, internal consistency and discriminant validity. It was applied in a NEP conducted at six workplaces, in order to evaluate the effect of an interactive or a lecture-based education programme on nutrition knowledge. Four knowledge domains comprising twenty-three items were extracted in the final version of the NQ. Internal consistency of each domain was significant, with Kuder-Richardson formula values>0·60. These four domains presented a good fit in the confirmatory factor analysis. In the discriminant validity test, both the Expert and Lay groups scored>0·52, but the Expert group scores were significantly higher than those of the Lay group in all domains. When the NQ was applied in the NEP, the overall questionnaire scores increased significantly because of the NEP intervention, in both groups (P<0·001). However, the increase in NQ scores was significantly higher in the interactive group than in the lecture group, in the overall score (P=0·008) and in the healthy eating domain (P=0·009). The validated NQ is a short and useful tool to assess gain in nutrition knowledge among participants of NEP at the workplace. According to the NQ, an interactive nutrition education had a higher impact on nutrition knowledge than a lecture programme.