Designing and evaluating the validity and reliability of a public confidence questionnaire on traffic accident reduction policies in Iran

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Nowadays, traffic accidents are considered as the main cause of disability and death throughout the world. In the meantime, people's trust in the efficacy of interventions and the performance of relevant authorities can play an effective role. Therefore, the present study was conducted to design and assess the validity and reliability of a questionnaire to measure public confidence in policies and measures to reduce traffic accidents in Iran. Methods: In this study, first, using a review of texts and semi-structured interviews with 6 experts in the field of traffic accidents, the primary questions of the public trust questionnaire to reduce traffic accident policies in Iran were initially designed. In the next step, using a validity form, with the participation of 10 experts, the validity of the questionnaire was tested. Next, the re-test method was used to calculate the internal consistency with the participation of 30 ordinary people. Exploratory factor analysis was also used. After preparing the public trust questionnaire, 681 people of Tabriz city who were selected available, were assessed. Results: In this study, after reviewing the texts and interviewing experts, the initial questions were designed, which included 50 questions in 8 dimensions. In the validation stage, 9 questions were deleted. In the reliability stage, 7 questions that did not receive an acceptable score were removed. Finally, 34 questions were selected in 8 dimensions. As a result of exploratory factor analysis, based on Eigen value, four factors were extracted that predict about 55% of the variance. The results of measuring public trust with a designed questionnaire showed that the total score of public trust in traffic accident reduction policies was 52.2%. The highest score is related to the field of facilities and equipment (53.3) and the lowest score is related to the field of car safety (43.1). The results of statistical tests showed that there is a significant relationship between gender, marital status, occupation, having a history of traffic accidents, education and age with the total score of public trust in government policies to reduce traffic accidents. (P<0.05) Conclusions: In the present study, for the first time, a questionnaire was designed to measure public confidence in traffic accident reduction policies. The results showed that this tool has acceptable validity and reliability. Therefore, it can be used in various studies. Also, the overall results of the present study showed that public trust in traffic accident reduction policies is relatively low.