Designing criteria for preventive behaviors of hepatitis B in health personnel

  Background: Hepatitis B is the most common occupational hazard in health personnel especially those that do not adhere to standard precautions in occupational exposures. Fatal complications and the lack of specific treatment for this infection have driven the attention of health researchers to the education of preventive methods.   Objective: The aim of this study was to design a valid and reliable tool with sociological characteristics in order to measure seven behavioral factors controlling hepatitis B.   Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in 135 health personnel that were selected by two-stage cluster random sampling method in Tehran during 2012-2013. The questionnaire was designed according to the definition recommended by Green and Kruter. Validity was determined in terms of face, content and construct validity . Reliability was determined by internal consistency and test-retest using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient .   Findings: The content validity ratio was greater than 0.80, the content validity index was greater than 0.79 and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.82. Exploratory factor analysis extracted seven factors that could predict %76.5 of the variance. Based on confirmatory factor analysis, the reliability of the model was fitted to 0.91.   Conclusion: With regards to the results, the questionnaire obtained from this study can be used for research, education and practical purposes.