Validity and Reliability of Asbestos Knowledge and Awareness Questionnaire for Environmental Asbestos Exposure in Rural Areas

Abstract

Objective: There is no treatment for asbestos-related diseases, but they can be prevented. One of the first interventions is to improve the knowledge level of people in order to protect people from asbestos and asbestos-related diseases. The present study was conducted to develop a questionnaire for measuring the knowledge and awareness level of asbestos and also assess its validity and reliability in a rural population that is exposed to asbestos environmentally. Methods:A questionnaire, interviewer-administered, that included 37 items was employed on a convenient sample consisting of adult persons who attended a tertiary teaching hospital in Eskişehir where asbestos exposure is widespread in its rural areas. After assessment of validity and reliability of the results, the questionnaire was refined to 19 items and one subscale.Results: A total of 760 participants were included in this study. The mean age of participants was 53.2±15.1 years and 51.6% of them were male. The discrimination and difficulty indices of the asbestos knowledge and awareness questionnaire ranged between 20.0-60.5% and 0.39-0.98, respectively. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.951 for overall items. The median (min-max) and mean (SD) score of the study population were 30 (19-56) and 33.9 (11.9), respectively. The score increased correspondingly with greater knowledge levels. Conclusion:This questionnaire is a practical and easy tool to apply with acceptable reliability and validity on high-risk adults in rural areas with environmental asbestos exposure.

Asbestos knowledge and awareness level in central part of Anatolia

“…The questionnaire was analyzed for reliability and validity by the study team before used in this study. Additionally, difficulty and discrimination indices were calculated for each item in the earlier study [24]. It is important to present the accuracy of the measurement subject by answers received from this questionnaire.…”

“…The AKAQ was developed by our study team and described in detail elsewere [24]. Participants completed the questionnaire under supervision of the study team.…”

Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Content Validation of a Pleural Mesothelioma Questionnaire to Portuguese Context – A Key Tool for Epidemiological Surveillance

“…Of the 6 countries identified, only 4 questionnaires were in the languages defined as inclusion in this study, namely Australia, Spain, France, and Turkey. After the analysis of the articles and access to the registries of the respective countries, the Australian is a web application (OccIDEAS) aimed at mesothelioma in general [24], the Spanish, despite being in English, aimed at establishing the probability of exposure to asbestos and to asbestosrelated diseases [25], the Turkish, despite being in English, only addressed exposure to asbestos in a nonoccupational context [26], and only the FNSPPM questionnaire meet the inclusion criteria since it is in French and is aimed at humans with PM with asbestos exposure, regardless of occupational and nonoccupational context.…”