Assessment of Public Perception of COVID-19 Risk: A Cross-sectional Study for Scale Development and Validation
| Author | Ezat Samadipour | en |
| Author | Fatemeh Ghardashi | en |
| Orcid | Ezat Samadipour [0000-0001-8352-4309] | en |
| Issued Date | 2026-03-31 | en |
| Abstract | Background: Public behavior during crises is heavily influenced by risk perception. Developing a reliable measurement tool can inform effective health policies. Objectives: This study aimed to design and validate a scale assessing perceptions of COVID-19 risk in the Iranian population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran from July to August 2020, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the COVID-19 Risk Perception Questionnaire. A qualitative approach established the operational definition, followed by item generation. Participants were Iranian adults aged 18 to 65 years, recruited through online platforms via convenience sampling. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, along with correlation assessments, were performed using AMOS software. To mitigate bias, efforts included diversifying recruitment sources and anonymizing responses; however, online sampling and voluntary participation could introduce selection bias and limit representativeness. Results: A total of 304 participants [62.8% female, mean age = 34.7 ± 10.2 years, the majority of participants held a bachelor’s degree (33.6%)] from diverse social backgrounds in Tehran completed the online questionnaire. The scale demonstrated adequate validity and reliability. Exploratory analysis identified five dimensions: Social, cognitive, emotional, cultural, and political, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.781. Confirmatory analysis showed good model fit [Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.920, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.041]. Although findings indicate strong psychometric properties, the cross-sectional design and online recruitment may limit causal inference and generalizability. Conclusions: The developed scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing COVID-19 risk perception in Iran. Future research should further validate this tool across different cultures and populations to enhance its external validity. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5812/ijpbs-143201 | en |
| URI | https://brieflands.com/journals/ijpbs/articles/143201 | en |
| Keyword | Public Health | en |
| Keyword | Risk Perception | en |
| Keyword | COVID-19 | en |
| Keyword | Construct Validity | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Assessment of Public Perception of COVID-19 Risk: A Cross-sectional Study for Scale Development and Validation | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |
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