A short questionnaire to assess changes in lifestyle-related behaviour during COVID 19 pandemic

Abstract

Background and aims: The lasting impact of COVID 19 pandemic and associated restrictions are bound to be significant on lifestyle-related behaviour including diet, physical activity and sleep which is one of the important components in the management of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome. This study was conducted to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess changes in individual's lifestyle-related behaviour during COVID 19 pandemic.

Materials and methods: The questionnaire was developed through a standardised methodology including literature review, focus group discussion, expert evaluation, pre-testing and validation. The face validity and content validity of the questionnaire were analysed. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on 103 participants to validate the questionnaire that used a 5-point Likert scale for the response option. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to establish construct validity. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to test the internal consistency of the whole questionnaire.

Results: A questionnaire with 20 items to assess the lifestyle-related behaviour of people was developed. The questionnaire shows a satisfactory validity and a good internal consistency with the Cronbach's alpha value of 0.72.

Conclusion: The developed tool is valid and reliable to assess the changes in lifestyle-related behaviour of individuals during COVID 19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID 19; Diabetes; Diet; Exercise; Lifestyle; Metabolic syndrome; Questionnaire; Sleep.