Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Smoking Habits, Attitudes, Knowledge, and Needs among University Students: A Pilot Study among Obstetrics Students

Laura Campo, Francesca Vecera and Silvia Fustinoni
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Laura Campo: Environmental and Industrial Toxicology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy
Francesca Vecera: EPIGET—Epidemiology, Epigenetics, and Toxicology Lab, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milan, Italy
Silvia Fustinoni: Environmental and Industrial Toxicology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: In Italy, smoking is still widespread among a relatively high percentage of young people. This study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess smoking habits, passive smoke exposure, electronic cigarette (e-cig) and heated tobacco product (HTP) use, attitudes, knowledge, and needs among undergraduates. A questionnaire consisting of 84 items was developed starting from a literature review and existing questionnaires. A two-round validation was performed by a team of 10 experts. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI), the scale-level content validity index (S-CVI), and the kappa statistics k, taking into account chance agreement, were calculated from the experts’ rating. The questionnaire was emailed to 114 students from the Obstetrics Degree of the University of Milan (Italy) to be pilot tested. After the second round of validation, all indexes were above the respective acceptability criteria: the I-CVI was 1.00 for all but three items, k was >0.74 (“excellent”) for all items, and the S-CVI was 0.964. Eighty-nine students participated in the survey: 17 classified themselves as smokers, eight as new product users, and four as former smokers, 72% students declared to routinely spend free time with smokers, while almost all students believed that healthcare professionals play a pivotal role in preventing smoking towards their patients and society. This questionnaire will be used in a survey among students from the University of Milan as a first step for future campaigns targeting health promotion.

Keywords: tobacco smoke; e-cigarette; HTP; questionnaire; validation; undergraduates; students; passive smoke (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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