Development of a survey of asthma knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions: the Chicago Community Asthma Survey. Chicago Asthma Surveillance Initiative Project Team

Abstract

Little is known about the general public's perception of the diagnosis of asthma and the impact of asthma on individuals, their families, and their communities. In addition, there appear to be no published survey instruments specifically designed to gain insights into how the general public perceives asthma. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of such an instrument, the Chicago Community Asthma Survey (CCAS)-32. Development began with two qualitative steps. First, a review of the published literature guided the initial instrument construction (Step 1). Content domains were chosen based on clinical input and the Health Belief Model. Most items were derived from existing instruments. To assess content validity, cognitive interviews and expert reviews were conducted (Step 2). Items were added, modified, and deleted based on the information gathered at each of these steps. In the next step, item performance measurement (Step 3), testing of two samples provided quantitative data to further inform item reduction. Items with uniform correct responses or responses lacking in variability were excluded. The result of this three-step process was a 32-item survey of asthma knowledge, attitudes and perceptions, the CCAS-32. The introduction to the survey was subsequently modified to minimize respondent bias (Step 4). In conclusion, the CCAS-32 was constructed with input from experts in asthma and individuals from the Chicago area. The items in the CCAS-32 appear to have both face validity and acceptable performance characteristics.