Abstract Rationale Regularly assessing whether individuals with hypersensitivity pneumonitis are adopting lifestyle behaviors focused on antigen avoidance and preventing acute exacerbations is essential for improving their prognosis. However, no scale evaluates desirable lifestyle behaviors for these patients. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a behavioral assessment scale for antigen avoidance and prevention of acute exacerbations among individuals with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Methods Based on a literature review, we generated a two-factor 13-item scale (seven for antigen-avoidance behavior and six for prevention behavior for acute exacerbations). Content validity was assessed by a panel of five experts, including the author, using a four-point Likert scale (1 = not relevant, 2 = somewhat relevant, 3 = quite relevant, 4 = highly relevant). For the calculation of the Content Validity Index (CVI), ratings of “quite relevant” or “highly relevant” were considered indicative of item relevance. The Item-level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) was calculated for each item, with a threshold of 0.78 deemed acceptable. The scale-level content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) was computed as the mean of I-CVI values. Items with low I-CVI scores were revised, merged, or removed. Results CVI evaluation revealed an S-CVI/Ave of 0.83 and an I-CVI that ranged from 0.60 to 1.00.Ten items achieved the required I-CVI criterion and were retained. Three items did not fulfill the acceptable threshold of 0.78. Consequently, one item was removed, one was merged with a conceptually similar item, and one was revised to improve relevance. The final scale comprises 11 items—specifically, six for antigen-avoidance behavior and five for prevention behavior for acute exacerbations. Owing to the limited sample size, validation such as factor analysis and reliability testing was not conducted at this stage. Conclusion This study reports the initial development of a two-factor behavioral assessment scale with strong content validity. The scale offers a promising framework for evaluating desirable lifestyle behaviors among individuals with hypersensitivity pneumonitis in clinical and preventive contexts. Additional validation studies with larger sample sizes are required to establish the scale’s reliability and construct validity. This abstract is funded by: JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP23K09950
Kawamoto et al. (Fri,) studied this question.