Mobile phone use while driving: Development and validation of knowledge, attitude, and practice survey instruments

Abstract

Introduction: Instruments that assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of mobile phone use serve as a primary assessment tool on which mobile phone distracted driving interventions can be designed. The objective of this study is to develop and validate KAP-modeled survey instruments that measure the knowledge of mobile phone hazards while driving (KMPHD), the attitude of drivers towards mobile phone use while driving (AMPUD), and the practice of mobile phone use while driving (PMPUD).

Method: This study was a cross-sectional analytical survey conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria. Three instruments were designed to measure KMPHD, AMPUD, and PMPUD. Content validity, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis were conducted, and items were excluded based on the collective results of the analysis. The domains of the constructs and the reliability of the instruments are reported. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the regression weights of each item and the model fit.

Results: From an original list of 13, 12, and 10 items in the KMPHD, AMPUD, and PMPUD instruments, a final list of 7, 5, and 7 items were generated in each survey instrument, respectively. Two domains of the knowledge of hazards and practice of mobile phone use were obtained, and attitude to phone use while driving was a single domain. The reliabilities (Cronbach alpha) of the KMPHD (0.881), AMPUD (0.954), and PMPUD (0.920) were sufficiently high. Also, all items in the three instruments had moderate-to-high regression coefficients, and the model fits of the instruments were good.

Conclusions: This study provides KAP-modeled survey instruments that can be used to assess a population-based knowledge, attitude, and practice of mobile phone use while driving. Practical Applications: This survey instrument can be used in assessing baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice of phone use while driving and determine the focus and effectiveness of mobile phone-induced distracted driving interventions.

Keywords: Distracted driving; Knowledge, attitude, and practice; Mobile phone; Nigeria; Road crashes.