Development and psychometric properties of the public attitude towards vaccination scale – Health belief model

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Public Attitude Towards Vaccination Scale – Health Belief Model. Design: A methodological and prospective psychometric study. Method: A three-phase construct was used to develop the Public Attitude Towards Vaccination Scale – Health Belief Model and to determine its psychometric properties: (1) creation of the item pool/conceptualization; (2) evaluation of the items; and (3) psychometric evaluation. This scale was tested using the construct validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) and the reliability analysis. A psychometric assessment of the scale was conducted with 586 individuals. Data were collected between January - April 2018. Results: Items of the scale were obtained by appraising the literature concerning vaccination and the other Health Belief Model scale and conducting interviews with mothers. The content validity ratio of this scale calculated according to experts’ opinions ranged between 0.769 and 1.00. According to the exploratory factor analysis, there were five factors with an eigenvalue higher than 1 in the scale. These five factors accounted for 68.9% of the total variance. In confirmatory factor analysis, values of fit indices were excellent or acceptable. This scale had high internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Conclusion: This study successfully developed the Public Attitude Towards Vaccination Scale – Health Belief Model. In addition to researchers, this scale can be used by nurses while providing counselling for people with vaccine hesitancy/refusal. Impact: This measurement tool can be used to understand and address ‘vaccine hesitancy’ by researchers. The results of the research using this measurement tool will provide valuable information to policymakers for preventing vaccine hesitancy. The validity and reliability of this scale can easily be conducted in different languages.