Preparation of hearing protection knowledge questionnaire and test of its reliability and validity

  Objective  A questionnaire for survey on hearing protection knowledge was prepared, and its reliability and validity were tested.

  Methods  The questionnaire was firstly developed based on relevant literature and consultation of experts in the area of occupational health. The original 33 items assigned 5 levels were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis. Then the structural equation model was established by using AMOS 21.0 software, the path factor was set up, and the confirmatory factor analysis was performed.

  Results  The original hearing protection knowledge questionnaire contained 33 items, and the final version contained 17 items with 4 dimensions after exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach's α coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.904, and the reduced half reliability of the questionnaire was 0.860. The common factor 1 was named as hearing protection, including item 40, 37, 36, 34, 39 and 38;the common factor 2 was named as protection habits, including item 30, 29, 28 and 31;the common factor 3 was named as hearing health, including item 16, 15, 17 and 23; and the common factor 4 was named as occupational noise, including item 12, 9 and 10. The verified and factor analysis showed that the χ²/df derived from model fitting, residual root mean square (RMSEA), root mean square error of approximation (RMR), goodness of fit index (GFI), comparative fitting index (CFI), standard fitting index(NFI), and value -added fitting index(IFI)were 2.837, 0.080, 0.000, 0.973, 0.915, 0.879, and 0.916, respectively, indicating that the fit of the model was good. The average variance extraction (AVE) values of the four factors in the model were 0.565 -0.698, and the combined reliability (CR) values were 0.794 -0.983, indicating a good polymerization validity of the model. The Pearson correlation coefficients of four factors were 0.469-0.75, and the AVE square root values were 0.752 -0.835, indicating good discriminant validity.

  Conclusions  The hearing protection knowledge questionnaire has good reliability and validity. It can reflect the individual hearing protection knowledge of surveyed workers, and can be used as a survey tool for assessment of hearing protection knowledge.