Reliability and validity of the injury prevention project home safety survey

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate reliability and validity of The Injury Prevention Project Safety Survey (TIPP-SS) of the American Academy of Pediatrics in measuring injury prevention practices.

Design: Reliability was measured using the test-retest method. Validity is measured comparing results of parent-completed TIPP-SSs and a home safety audit conducted in the participants' homes at the time of survey.

Setting: Two Chicago Public School Early Childhood Education program sites.

Participants: Eighty-eight families (44 English speaking and 44 Spanish speaking) with a child aged 3 to 5 years attending a site A or B Chicago Public School Early Childhood Education program. Participants were split evenly between sites.

Intervention: For the reliability study, primary caregivers completed TIPP-SS twice, 14 to 24 days apart. For the validity study, primary caregivers completed TIPP-SS during a home visit in which a research assistant completed a home safety audit. A total of 44 home visits were completed, 22 in Spanish and 22 in English.

Outcome measures: Test-retest reliability and validity of TIPP-SS. Results are compared for agreement of individual items and the whole survey.

Results: The Injury Prevention Project Safety Survey is reliable but not valid. The Injury Prevention Project Safety Survey is a good measure of the concept of injury prevention knowledge and practice (Cronbach alpha = 0.869). External reliability was statistically supported as well (P = .40). The Injury Prevention Project Safety Survey is not a valid measure of injury prevention behaviors. Validity was poor for items based on observed data (Pearson r = 0.287, in English; Pearson r = - 0.449, in Spanish). Validity was much stronger for parent report data (Pearson r = 0.689, in English; Pearson r = 1.00, in Spanish).

Conclusions: Results suggest that TIPP-SS measures knowledge and attitudes rather than behavior. Parents are often aware of the desired behavior or condition and report those instead of actual conditions or behaviors. This suggests that the quest to develop a valid home-based, injury prevention, behavior assessment tool should continue and be done in a way that carefully addresses potential instruments' validity and reliability.