Reliability and validity of a questionnaire measuring knowledge, attitude and practice regarding “oil, salt and sugar” among canteen employees in China

Abstract

Abstract Background Excessive intake of oil, salt and sugar is closely associated with the prevalence of NCDs. Canteen employees’ knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about oil, salt and sugar directly affect the content of them in dishes and the consumers’ intake. However, there is no valid questionnaire used to assess KAP among canteen employees about the “oil, salt and sugar”. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to establish and validate a questionnaire to evaluate the KAP of canteen employees about the “oil, salt and sugar”.Methods A total of 100 canteen employees randomly selected from three different college canteens in Shandong Province. Participants completed the questionnaire and retested 1 month later. Internal reliability and test-retest reliability were assessed using Cronbach’s α and Pearson correlation coefficients, respectively. Validity was assessed using the exploratory factor analysis.Results The final questionnaire consisted of four sections, 76 items: demography (13 items), knowledge (21 items), attitude (20 items), and practice (23 items). A total of 100 participants finished the questionnaire of which 66% were females with a mean age of 40.3 years. The Cronbach’s α coefficients of the questionnaire and each dimension were 0.822, 0.830, 0.752 and 0.700, respectively. The test-retest reliability coefficient is 0.968; In exploratory factor analysis, 9 common factors are extracted, with a total of 26 items, and the cumulative contribution rate is 70.923%.Conclusion The questionnaire had a satisfactory property for measuring the KAP of the “oil, salt and sugar” among canteen employees in China.