Dataset Information

Development and psychometric assessment of the public health emergency risk perception scale: Under the outbreak of COVID-19.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Correctly understanding and evaluating the level of public risk perception toward public health emergencies not only helps experts and decision-makers understand the public's preventative health behaviors to these emergencies but also enhances their risk information communication with the public. The aim of this study was to develop a risk perception scale for public health emergencies and test its validity and reliability during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods

Guided by the theoretical model of risk perception, an initial scale was generated through literature review, group meetings, resident interviews, and expert consultation. A pretest and item screening were then conducted to develop a formal risk perception scale for public health emergencies. Finally, the reliability and validity of the scale were validated through a questionnaire survey of 504 Chinese adults.

Results

The final scale had 9 items. The content validity index of the scale was 0.968, and the content validity index of individual items ranged from 0.83 to 1.00. Three common factors, dread risk perception, severe risk perception, and unknown risk perception, were extracted for exploratory factor analysis, and together they explained 66.26% of the variance in the score. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model had a satisfactory fit, where ? ²/df = 1.384, the goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = 0.989, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.028, root mean square residual (RMR) = 0.018, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.995, normed fit index (NFI) = 0.982, and non-normed fit index (NNFI) = 0.990. The correlations between dimensions ranged from 0.306 to 0.483 (P < 0.01). Cronbach's ? was 0.793 for the total scale and ranged between 0.687 and 0.801 for the individual dimensions. The split-half coefficient was 0.861 for the total scale and ranged from 0.727 to 0.856 for induvial dimensions. The test-retest coefficient was 0.846 for the total scale and ranged from 0.843 to 0.868 for induvial dimensions.

Conclusion

The developed scale for the risk perception of public health emergencies showed acceptable levels of reliability and validity, suggesting that it is suitable for evaluating residents' risk perception of public health emergencies.

SUBMITTER: Shen Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7831463 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Development and psychometric assessment of the public health emergency risk perception scale: Under the outbreak of COVID-19.

Shen Zhiying Z Zhong Zhuqing Z Xie Jianfei J Ding Siqing S Li Shougen S Li Chengyuan C

International journal of nursing sciences 20201230 1

<h4>Objective</h4>Correctly understanding and evaluating the level of public risk perception toward public health emergencies not only helps experts and decision-makers understand the public's preventative health behaviors to these emergencies but also enhances their risk information communication with the public. The aim of this study was to develop a risk perception scale for public health emergencies and test its validity and reliability during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ...[more]

PMID: 33520340

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Project description:ObjectiveAmid the COVID-19 pandemic, social stigma towards COVID-19 infection has become a major component of public discourse and social phenomena. As such, we aimed to develop and validate the COVID-19 Public Stigma Scale (COVID-PSS).Design and settingNational-based survey cross-sectional study during the lockdown in Thailand.ParticipantsWe invited the 4004 adult public to complete a set of measurement tools, including the COVID-PSS, global fear of COVID-19, perceived risk of COVID-19 infection, Bogardus Social Distance Scale, Pain Intensity Scale and Insomnia Severity Index.MethodsFactor structure dimensionality was constructed and reaffirmed with model fit by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and non-parametric item response theory (IRT) analysis. Psychometric properties for validity and reliability were tested. An anchor-based approach was performed for classifying the proper cut-off scores.ResultsAfter factor analysis, IRT analysis and test for model fit, we created the final 10-item COVID-PSS with a three-factor structure: stereotype, prejudice and fear. Face and content validity were established through the public and experts' perspectives. The COVID-PSS was significantly correlated (Spearman rank, 95% CI) with the global fear of COVID-19 (0.68, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.70), perceived risk of COVID-19 infection (0.79, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.80) and the Bogardus Social Distance Scale (0.50, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.53), indicating good convergent validity. The correlation statistics between the COVID-PSS and the Pain Intensity Scale and Insomnia Severity Index were <0.2, supporting the discriminant validity. The reliability of the COVID-PSS was satisfactory, with good internal consistency (Cronbach's α of 0.85, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.86) and test-retest reproducibility (intraclass correlation of 0.94, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.96). The proposed cut-off scores were as follows: no/minimal (≤18), moderate (19-25) and high (≥26) public stigma towards COVID-19 infection.ConclusionsThe COVID-PSS is practical and suitable for measuring stigma towards COVID-19 in a public health survey. However, cross-cultural adaptation may be needed.

Project description:The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of citizens' behaviors in the containment of the virus. Individuals might change their intention to adhere to public health prescriptions depending on various personal characteristics, including their own emotional status, which has been recognized to be a crucial psychological factor in orienting people's adherence to public health recommendation during emergency settings. In particular, it is crucial to support citizens' alliance with authorities and feeling of trust: public engagement is a concept that refers to the general involvement of citizens into public affairs which is generally considered an effective approach to enhance citizens' understanding of their crucial role in public affairs. However, so far there is no agreement on the metrics and indexes that should be used to measures public engagement during a health crisis. The aim of this paper is to validate a psychometric scale (PHEs-E), which intends to measure the readiness of individuals to adhere to the prescribed behavioral change to contain the emergency. Data were collected throughout the pandemic in Italy: in particular, five independent samples were recruited starting from March 2020 to March 2021. Results showed that the proposed measure has good psychometric characteristics. A general linear model was computed to assess the differences of public engagement across the different data points and among citizens with different sociodemographic characteristics. Correlations with other psychological constructs (i.e. Anxiety, Depression and Self-Efficacy) were also tested, showing that more engaged citizens have a lower level of anxiety and depression, and a higher self-efficacy. This study's findings indicate that individuals' characteristics may differentiate citizens' motivation to engage in public health behavioral recommendation to prevent the COVID-19 contagion. However the scale could be useful to perform a psychological monitoring of psychological readiness to engage in public health strategies to face critical events and settings.

Dataset Information

Development and psychometric assessment of the public health emergency risk perception scale: Under the outbreak of COVID-19.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Development and psychometric assessment of the public health emergency risk perception scale: Under the outbreak of COVID-19.

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