Development of a screening tool in Arabic for respiratory health problems.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to develop a tool in the Arabic language for screening of respiratory health problems in air polluted areas. This was the first stage in a multistage study.


METHODS
A descriptive design was utilized.


METHODS
One hundred adults aged 18 years or more living in an air polluted area in Jordan were recruited using a convenience sampling technique.


RESULTS
The Respiratory Risk Profile, generated from a synthesis of international epidemiological studies, had excellent reliability coefficients with an internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.92. The strong item-scale correlations (0.48-0.76) showed that all of the items contributed to the measurement of the respiratory symptoms. Construct validity was assessed by a factor analysis, and a two-factor model had a good fit to the data. The two factors (upper respiratory symptoms and lower respiratory symptoms) explained 50% and 12% of the total variance, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Approximately half of the study participants (49%) complained of difficulty breathing in the past 3 months. About 10% of the respondents reported that they were currently taking asthma medications. The present psychometric analyses showed that the Respiratory Risk Profile is a valid and reliable screening tool for respiratory health problems in adult populations living in polluted areas.
Shishani
K
K
School of Nursing, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan. kawkab.shishani@gmail.com
D000328:Adult; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018912:Arabs; D003710:Demography; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan / Q000453:epidemiology; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D015995:Prevalence; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors