Development and Validation of a Micronutrients Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Questionnaire for Adolescents...

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Micronutrient deficiencies are a significant public health concern, particularly among adolescents.
• Effective nutrition intervention programs require accurate assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP).
• Existing tools may not adequately capture the nuances of micronutrient KAP in the adolescent population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a comprehensive questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) related to micronutrients.
• To evaluate the reliability and validity of the developed KAP questionnaire in Indian adolescents.
• To provide a robust tool for assessing micronutrient-related KAP to inform intervention strategies.

Main Methods:

• Literature review to draft an initial 122-item questionnaire.
• Assessment of face validity by participants and content validity by subject experts.
• Exploratory factor analysis for construct validity, Cronbach's α for internal consistency, and interclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability.

Main Results:

• The questionnaire demonstrated satisfactory content validity and face validity.
• Exploratory factor analysis identified a four-factor construct for the attitude subscale.
• High internal consistency (Cronbach's α > 0.840) and reliability (ICC > 0.701) were observed across knowledge, attitude, and practice domains.
• The final 134-item questionnaire includes detailed subscales for knowledge, attitude, and practices (dietary and other).

Conclusions:

• The developed questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing micronutrient knowledge, attitude, and practices in adolescents.
• This tool can be effectively utilized to guide the design and implementation of targeted nutrition interventions.
• Further validation in diverse settings is recommended to enhance generalizability.