COVID-19 in prisons: validity of a knowledge, attitude and practice survey

Objective: To validate a knowledge, attitude and practice survey on preventive measures against COVID-19 for penitentiary system staff based on environmental theory.Methods: This is a methodological study developed in four stages: conceptual structure establishment; instrument elaboration; content validity by judges; and appearance assessment by the target audience. The content of each item was validated for objectivity, clarity and relevance. Survey appearance was assessed regarding objective, organization, writing style and motivation. Content validity coefficient was used to assess agreement among judges and the target audience. Data were analyzed using gross distributions, percentages, position and dispersion measures. Cronbach's alpha index was used to analyze the consistency of judges' and target audience's assessments.Results: Regarding content and appearance, the assessed requirements achieved agreement greater than 0.9. In consistency assessment, a Cronbach's alpha index > 0.9 and > 0.7 was obtained for content and appearance, respectively, indicating that judges and target audiences tended to make similar assessments.Conclusion: The survey presented content and appearance validity for collecting data regarding knowledge, attitude and practice regarding COVID-19 prevention for penitentiary system staff, indicating that it could contribute to health education action planning and assessment.