Data Collection Instrument to Identify Self-Medication in University Students

Abstract

Introduction: Self-medication is a common practice among university students. Some self-medication studies in university students do not describe the validation of their instruments.

Objective: To validate an instrument for collecting self-medication data in university students.

Methods: The study included the design of the instrument, for which questions were elaborated from related articles, and their validation. Expert judgment was taken into account with the Delphi method to validate the content. Each question was evaluated with an ordinal scale of 1 to 4. The coefficient of variation was determined. Reliability, internal consistency and stability were assessed. Based on the judgment of experts and their coefficient of variation, the questions were adjusted and improved.

Results: Factor analysis indicated that it was not possible to generate more than one dimension. Cronbach's Alpha with one component was 0.738, weighted Kappa was variable for each question, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.822. The validation of the instrument showed a reliability classified as "good" and the agreement for the questions was differential.

Conclusions: The instrument can be used in studies that aim to determine the prevalence of self-medication and its associated factors.