DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE ASSESSING THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES TOWARDS MEDICALLY IMPORTANT INSECTS AMONG SCHOOLCHILDREN IN MALAYSIA

Received 2023-07-06; Accepted 2023-09-22; Published 2023-09-22

Authors

  • Nur Aliah Natasha Azmi Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Nurul Azmiera Zamri Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Chong Chin Heo Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.
  • Tengku Shahrul Anuar Tengku Ahmad Basri Centre for Medical Laboratory Technology Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22452/jummec.sp2023no2.27

Abstract

Insects can be found in a wide range of habitats, including deep jungles, agricultural plantations and even in our own homes and gardens. There are, however, harmful insects that have been classified as medically important, such as mosquitoes and flies. The goal of this study is to design, develop and validate a questionnaire for measuring primary schoolchildren’s knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) about medically important insects in Malaysia. A mixed method study was employed, and the questionnaire was designed in Phase 1 by reviewing several literature studies. Twenty questionnaire items were face-validated by 24 recognised experts in medical entomology during Phase 2. The construct validity and reliability of the questionnaire were assessed using the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), principal components analysis (PCA) and Cronbach’s alpha (α). As a result, the questionnaire’s final collection has 16 items in each of their respective domains. With Cronbach’s alpha of 0.7, the consistency was found to be acceptable. The developed questionnaire can be used to assess schoolchildren’s KAP towards medically important insects, hence increasing the possibility of reaching two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), good health and well-being (SDG 3) and quality education (SDG 4).

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Published

2023-09-22

Issue

Special Issue 2 (2023): Postgraduate Research Colloquium

Section

Research article

License

All authors agree that the article, if editorially accepted for publication, shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 to allow others to freely access, copy and use research provided the author is correctly attributed, unless otherwise stated. All articles are available online without charge or other barriers to access. However, anyone wishing to reproduce large quantities of an article (250+) should inform the publisher. Any opinion expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not reflect that of the University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.