Developing and Psychometric Validating an Instrument Based on the Protection Motivation Theory to Measure the Factors Influencing Preventive Behaviors of Malaria

摘要

Introduction: Malaria is considered as a serious public health problem in Iran. The personal prophylactic behaviors can prevent the risk of malaria. The present study aims to develop and psychometric validate an instrument based on the protection motivation theory to measure the factors influencing the prophylactic treatment of the disease Malaria. Methodology: The cross-sectional study was conducted during March-December 2016. The samples consisted of 234 male students aged 15-35, randomly selected by using the multi-stage cluster sampling from religious schools in Sarbaz. The research instrument was 46-Item initial questionnaire including questions on knowledge, constructs of protection motivation theory, and behavioral checklist. The items were designed based on systematic reviews in relevant literature and interviews with experts. The psychometric validation and reliability were examined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Cronbach's alpha and ICC, respectively. The data were analyzed by using software SPSS19 and Lisrel 8.8. Results: The content validity was confirmed by content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) which were 0.79- 1.00 and 0.81-1.00, respectively. The structural validity using the confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed that the 42 items with 8 sub-constructs model fitted data well in addition, Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.71.7-0.86.6) and intra class correlation coefficient ICC (0.70.8-79.5) indicated good internal correlation and instrument reliability, respectively. Conclusion: Based on results, reliability and validity on instrument based on protection motivation theory are confirmed for the preventing Malaria. Therefore, it is recommended to apply the instrument in society.