Development and validation of a theory-based questionnaire examining barriers and facilitators to discontinuing...

Long-term use of benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRAs) is a persistent healthcare challenge and poses patient safety risks. Interventions underpinned by behaviour change theory are needed to support discontinuation of long-term BZRA use. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to examine mediators of behaviour change relating to the discontinuation of long-term BZRA use.

An initial 52 item questionnaire was developed using the 14 domains of TDF version 2 and iteratively refined over two rounds. The questionnaire was disseminated online via online support groups that focused on BZRAs to community-based adults with either current or previous experience of taking BZRAs on a long-term basis (≥3 months). Confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to assess the questionnaire's reliability, discriminant validity and goodness of fit. The Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) were calculated.

Following an iterative process of adjustment, the results obtained from confirmatory factor analysis resulted in the final questionnaire consisting of 29 items across nine theoretical domains. The internal consistency reliability values across these domains ranged from 0.62 to 0.85. For the final model, the SRMR was 0.23, the RMSEA was 0.11 and the CFI was 0.6.

The questionnaire offers a potential tool that could be used to identify domains that need to be targeted as part of a behaviour change intervention at an individual patient level. Further research is needed to assess the questionnaire's acceptability and usability, and to develop a scoring system so that domains can be prioritised and subsequently targeted as part of an intervention.