Development of Respiratory Infection Prevention and Control Self-Efficacy Scale for Adults

This study aimed to develop a scale for respiratory infection prevention and control self-efficacy (R-PACS) to measure self-efficacy in the prevention and control of the spread of respiratory infections among adults and to confirm the applicability of the developed scale by testing its validity and reliability.

This methodological study was conducted in two phases. During the first phase, the R-PACS scale was developed after conducting a thorough literature review, content validity, and a pilot test. In the second phase, its validity and reliability were verified against 210 university students in Korea. The criterion validity of the developed R-PACS scale was tested using the correlation with resilience scale. Item analysis, explanatory factor analysis, and convergent and discriminant validity analyses were conducted in order to verify construct validity. Furthermore, Cronbach's α was used to verify internal consistency reliability.

The final version of the R-PACS scale comprises 4 factors and 16 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Higher scores are interpreted as higher levels of self-efficacy in the prevention and control of respiratory infection. The R-PACS scale exhibited good content validity, construct validity, criterion validity, and reliability. The correlation coefficient of the four factors was ≥.4, confirming the validity of item convergence; meanwhile, the Cronbach's α coefficient for the final 16 items of the developed scale was 0.923, verifying reliability. This scale consists of four factors: "environmental management", "contact restrictions", "general infection prevention and control", and "early detection".

The applicability of the R-PACS scale exhibited acceptable validity and reliability. This scale can be utilized to assess and evaluate the degree of self-efficacy in the prevention and control of respiratory infections among adults. Data obtained using this scale can be utilized for preparing health behavior change and health promotion programs, and practical policies for preventing respiratory infections.