Abstract

Objective: Antibiotic misuse is a significant public health problem worldwide. Parents’ perceptions of antibiotics are critical for the antibiotic intake of children. The study’s aim was to validate the Turkish Parental Perception on Antibiotics Scale.

Methods: This is a scale validation study. The data were collected through a questionnaire that consisted of 15 questions about the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the family and the Turkish Parental Perception on Antibiotics Scale. The scale, developed by Alumran et al., is a 5-point Likert type and consists of 31 items. The high scores obtained from the non-cut-off scale indicate better antibiotics perception. Experts completed the language adaption and content validity of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity. Reliability was tested by internal consistency coefficients.

Results: One thousand eight people participated in the study. 68.8% of the participants were mothers. The mean age of the mothers was 35.7±5.0, and the mean age of the fathers was 39.4±5.2 years. The percent of high school and above graduates was 51.2% among mothers and 56.0% among fathers. According to the confirmatory factor analysis, the fit index values were standardized root mean square residual (SRMR)=0.06, goodness-of-fit index (GFI)=0.90, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.06, comparative fit index (CFI)=0.95, non-normed fit index (NNFI)=0.93. The fit index values were good or excellent and confirmed the 5-factor structure. It was found that the internal consistency coefficients calculated for reliability were 0.79 for the whole scale and ranged between 0.63 and 0.86 for the subscales.

Conclusion: The Turkish Parental Perception on Antibiotics Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool. Further research is needed to determine the current situation regarding antibiotic perception.