Arranging the questionnaire to identify brucellosis risk factors in Western Kazakhstan

• Main Authors: Aisha Urazaeva, Saule Balmagambetova, Zhumabek Bekenov, Saltanat Urazaeva, Kymbat Tussupkalieva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Limited liability company «Science and Innovations» (Saratov) 2020-12-01
• Series: Russian Open Medical Journal
• Subjects: risk factors; kazakhstan; questionnaire; вrucellosis; aktobe region
• Online Access: http://www.romj.org/node/347

Background ― In some Kazakhstan regions, the epidemic situation on brucellosis remains tense, despite the observed trend to decrease in the incidence: 5.5 per 100,000 population by 2018 vs. 6.2 in 2017. The article aims at presenting the steps of preparing the brucellosis questionnaire to identify infection risk factors. Methods ― A questionnaire is developed based on the Health Belief Model to arrange interviews among the adult population of the Aktobe region. Stages of the drafting process included: 1) review of relevant literature sources; 2) assessment of the target audience to calculate N (number of interviewees); 3) development of the questionnaire itself; 4) testing the tool in focus-groups; 5) validation through Cronbach’s alpha (α) calculation to reach the internal consistency of the questionnaire; 6) final editing of the survey tool. The Cronbach’s alpha was calculated using the item-analysis in the SPSS Modeler.v.25. Results ― The designed questionnaire consisted of the three domains with twenty-two questions of the semi-closed type and underwent testing in the focus-group of ninety-eight livestock owners. A preliminary analysis revealed five items with unsatisfactory mean values, which were either modified or deleted so that the α resulted in 0.71 (moderately reliable). The adjusted tool eventually contained seventeen items (questions). Conclusion ― A simple design and adequate validation of the survey tool should facilitate information on population awareness of the clinical symptoms and paths of brucellosis infection transmission. Data on accepted practice on caring for livestock in private households across the region also become available for analysis owing to the presented questionnaire.