Development and Psychometric Validation of Population-Based Knowledge Attitudes and Practices-Questionnaire on Fluoride (PBKAP-QF).

Fluoride exposure is a global public health concern. Understanding the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of affected populations is essential for effective community management. This study aimed to develop and validate a KAP questionnaire to assess fluoride and its risk in general population. An extensive literature review and focus group discussions were conducted to construct the questionnaire. Content validity was assessed using the Content Validity Index (CVI) based on expert feedback. Factor analysis was performed for final tool validation, and item characteristics were analyzed using IBM SPSS v. 27 and IBM AMOS v. 26. A total of 300 responses were collected. Initially, 41 items were included in the questionnaire, which were reduced to 25 after expert review. The final version included 19 items, with an I-CVI ranging from 0.80 to 1.00, indicating no issues with item difficulty or discrimination. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.88 to 0.90, demonstrating good internal consistency. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was 0.848, and Bartlett's test (χ² = 6860.978, df = 156, p < 0.01) confirmed data suitability for factor analysis. Three constructs were extracted with factor loadings greater than 0.5. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good model fit. This study developed and validated a robust 19-item KAP questionnaire for assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to fluoride exposure. The tool demonstrated excellent reliability, validity, and internal consistency, supporting its use in guiding effective community-level management and public health interventions in fluoride-endemic areas.