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

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. SITE: Carried out at the Uludağ University Family Health Center in Bursa, Turkey. 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 A-General 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.