Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public community

Introduction Worldwide, people heavily use chemical-based disinfectants to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with limited or no safety instructions. Awareness about the safe use of chemical-based disinfectants is highly recommended to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to avoid any health risks when misu...

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Main Authors: Nisreen Alwan, Mona Aridi, Wissam Ghach
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2024-10-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/10/e082268.full
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author Nisreen Alwan
Mona Aridi
Wissam Ghach
author_facet Nisreen Alwan
Mona Aridi
Wissam Ghach
author_sort Nisreen Alwan
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Worldwide, people heavily use chemical-based disinfectants to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with limited or no safety instructions. Awareness about the safe use of chemical-based disinfectants is highly recommended to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to avoid any health risks when misused, especially in developing countries where a poor healthcare system is prominent. Awareness in this context refers to the understanding and knowledge of proper usage, safety protocols and potential health risks associated with chemical disinfectants. Practices refer to the actual behaviours and actions taken when using disinfectants, including frequency of use, methods of application and adherence to safety guidelines.Objective The purpose of this paper is to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess the community level of awareness and practice concerning chemical-based disinfectant use during COVID-19 in Lebanon.Design The questionnaire was adapted and modified from a previous study held in Iran, in which the questions were generated and developed with content validity ratio and index (CVR and CVI). The study design was divided into the qualitative phase/development of the Disinfectants Use Questionnaire (DUQ) and the quantitative phase/psychometric properties of the DUQ. The questionnaire was subjected to face and content validity tests through expert reviews. Data validation, for 130 participants (80.8% females, 85.5% bachelor’s degree and above, 80.8% students and 70.8% aged within 30 years), was examined through psychometric properties at the final stage of the validation. CVI for items (I-CVI), scale-level CVI (S-CVI), universal agreement calculation (S-CVI/UA), S-CVI and the average calculation method (S-CVI/Ave), based on I-CVI and based on proportion relevance, were calculated to determine the content validity.Results 23 items of the 28-item scale had an I-CVI of 1, and the I-CVI of the remaining five ranged between 0.75 and 0.88. The S-CVI/UA was 0.82 and the S-CVI/Ave was 0.96, which meant that the items were good for the underlying construct. For the psychometric measures, principal axis factoring was performed and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy, Bartlett’s test, eigenvalues and total variances were quite accepted and satisfactory.Conclusion This study showed that DUQ is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the community level of awareness and practice concerning chemical-based disinfectant use during COVID-19.
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spelling doaj-art-e7dd6745956b4e068eb5a0b0106533972025-08-20T02:09:45ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552024-10-01141010.1136/bmjopen-2023-082268Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public communityNisreen Alwan0Mona Aridi1Wissam Ghach21School of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK1 Polytech Angers, University of Angers, Angers, Pays de la Loire, France2 Department of Public Health, College of Arts and Sciences, Canadian University Dubai, Dubai, UAEIntroduction Worldwide, people heavily use chemical-based disinfectants to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with limited or no safety instructions. Awareness about the safe use of chemical-based disinfectants is highly recommended to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to avoid any health risks when misused, especially in developing countries where a poor healthcare system is prominent. Awareness in this context refers to the understanding and knowledge of proper usage, safety protocols and potential health risks associated with chemical disinfectants. Practices refer to the actual behaviours and actions taken when using disinfectants, including frequency of use, methods of application and adherence to safety guidelines.Objective The purpose of this paper is to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess the community level of awareness and practice concerning chemical-based disinfectant use during COVID-19 in Lebanon.Design The questionnaire was adapted and modified from a previous study held in Iran, in which the questions were generated and developed with content validity ratio and index (CVR and CVI). The study design was divided into the qualitative phase/development of the Disinfectants Use Questionnaire (DUQ) and the quantitative phase/psychometric properties of the DUQ. The questionnaire was subjected to face and content validity tests through expert reviews. Data validation, for 130 participants (80.8% females, 85.5% bachelor’s degree and above, 80.8% students and 70.8% aged within 30 years), was examined through psychometric properties at the final stage of the validation. CVI for items (I-CVI), scale-level CVI (S-CVI), universal agreement calculation (S-CVI/UA), S-CVI and the average calculation method (S-CVI/Ave), based on I-CVI and based on proportion relevance, were calculated to determine the content validity.Results 23 items of the 28-item scale had an I-CVI of 1, and the I-CVI of the remaining five ranged between 0.75 and 0.88. The S-CVI/UA was 0.82 and the S-CVI/Ave was 0.96, which meant that the items were good for the underlying construct. For the psychometric measures, principal axis factoring was performed and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy, Bartlett’s test, eigenvalues and total variances were quite accepted and satisfactory.Conclusion This study showed that DUQ is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the community level of awareness and practice concerning chemical-based disinfectant use during COVID-19.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/10/e082268.full
spellingShingle Nisreen Alwan
Mona Aridi
Wissam Ghach
Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public community
BMJ Open
title Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public community
title_full Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public community
title_fullStr Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public community
title_full_unstemmed Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public community
title_short Validity and reliability of chemical-based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the Lebanese public community
title_sort validity and reliability of chemical based disinfectant use questionnaire in a sample of the lebanese public community
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/10/e082268.full
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AT wissamghach validityandreliabilityofchemicalbaseddisinfectantusequestionnaireinasampleofthelebanesepubliccommunity