Vaccine literacy scale for adult vaccination: a study of turkish validity and reliability

Objective: This research sought to adapt the "Vaccine Literacy Scale for Adult Vaccination" designed to assess adults vaccine literacy levels, into Turkish and evaluate its validity and reliability. Additionally, this study aimed to determine the vaccine literacy levels within the study group and elucidate factors associated with these levels. Materials and Methods: This research is a methodological study. The scale was adapted into Turkish through the translation-back translation method. Expert opinions were solicited concerning the scale, finalizing its Turkish version. The study sample comprised 560 individuals accessed via convenience sampling. Data were collected from August 15 to September 15, 2023, through a combination of face-to-face interviews and Google Forms. Participants responded to a 41-item questionnaire, which consisted of 12 questions about sociodemographic characteristics, a 15-item "Vaccine Knowledge Test" derived from literature review, and the 14-item "Vaccine Literacy Scale for Adult Vaccination Turkish Version". For the scale's validity, content validity, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were executed. For reliability assessment, internal consistency analysis, test-retest method, and item analysis were utilized. Results: The mean age of participants was 36.6±11.4 years, 67.1% were female, 75.9% had attained a university education or higher, and 29.1% were healthcare professionals. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.833. The correlation coefficient between test-retest reliability was determined as 0.929 (p<0.001). The exploratory factor analysis revealed a two factor structure of the scale, accounting for 53.83% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded fit indices of χ2/df=2.403, GFI=0.95, CFI=0.962, AGFI=0.924, indicating satisfactory alignment. Higher scores in both subscale were observed among those with a university degree or higher, higher income, and healthcare professionals compared to their counterparts. Conclusion: Our results showed that the "Vaccine Literacy Scale for Adult Vaccination" is a valid and reliable scale for the Turkish population. It has also been found that having a university degree, being a healthcare professional, and having a higher income level are associated with better vaccine literacy.