Development and validation of a lifetime exposure questionnaire for use among Chinese populations

The sunlight exposure questionnaire for use in the Chinese population was constructed based on extensive literature review and item suitability for measuring life-time exposure. The content validity index (CVI) was derived from ratings by, an expert panel to assess the item content and relevance. 650 population-based Chinese women completed the sunlight exposure questionnaire through telephone interview. To assess the questionnaire reliability, 94 women were re-interviewed after 2 weeks. 98.4% of the sunlight exposure questionnaire items were found to have valid CVI (>0.83). The Scree plot and the Principal Components Factor Analysis showed a two-factor construct was appropriate and no questionnaire item needed to be excluded. The questionnaire also had a good test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.59-0.93; k: 0.51-100). This sunlight exposure questionnaire was found to be adequate for measurement of life-time sunlight exposure among Hong Kong Chinese women.