Development and Validity of a Questionnaire on Dyslipidemia Dietary Knowledge

Objective. Dyslipidemia is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Diet and lifestyle interventions positively contribute to the management of dyslipidemia. Adequate knowledge of the correct diet for dyslipidemia is an effective preventive strategy against cardiovascular disease. Method. This study developed a questionnaire to test dyslipidemia dietary knowledge. The initial, multiple-choice dyslipidemia dietary knowledge questionnaire (DDKQ) was formed based on a literature review of previous studies. Two Delphi rounds were performed to ensure content validity and face validity, items were pretested and filtered through item analysis, and the reliability and validity of the final questionnaire were checked. Results. The DDKQ consisted of 5 parts, with 25 items in total. It demonstrated adequate content validity (0.94), face validity, internal consistency (KR20 = 0.67), and test-retest reliability (0.74). The mean item difficulty (P) was 0.55 and ranged from 0.15 to 0.83, and the mean item discrimination index (D) was 0.36, ranging from 0.21 to 0.58. The questionnaire was also able to distinguish between participants with/without a medical background; medical workers produced significantly higher total scores (16.70 +/- 2.84 vs. 14.57 +/- 4.26, p< 0.05). Conclusion. The DDKQ is a reliable and valid measure of dyslipidemia dietary knowledge. It is suitable for providing scientific assessments for targeted health education interventions.