A SCALE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION STUDY: COMMUNICABLE DISEASES RISK AWARENESS AND PROTECTION SCALE

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Objective: It is important to measure the risk awareness and protection levels of individuals to be protected from infectious diseases that maintain their importance for society by showing a dynamic course. This study was aimed to develop the “Communicable Diseases Risk Awareness and Protection Scale” as a measurement tool for adult individuals. Materials and Methods: This is a methodological research, and the purposeful sampling method was used. The item pool prepared by the researchers has been provided with scope validity with expert opinions. After the pilot study, the 60-item draft scale was applied to the research group, consisting of 740 individuals. After an item analysis and an exploratory factor analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the draft scale. Results: As a result of the principal components analysis and the Varimax rotation method, a six-factor structure was formed with the explained total variance of 45.21%. Since the Chi-square/ df:2.78, RMSEA:0.049, CFI:0.97, GFI:0.97, AGFI:0.97, NFI:0.96, and RFI:0.96 met the fit criteria, the construct validity of the scale was confirmed. In reliability analysis: Cronbach ᾳ value of the scale was 0.91; sub-dimensions were between 0.60-0.78. The Spearman-Brown coefficient was 0.86, and the test-retest correlation value was 0.95. Conclusion: It has been determined that the ‘Communicable diseases risk awareness and protection scale,’ consisting of 6 sub-dimensions and 36 items, was determined to be valid and reliable. The increase in the total score indicates a high level of risk awareness and protection from communicable diseases.