ABSTRACT
Background: Accurate measurement of individuals' attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and pandemic is critical to understand the way that people respond during a major crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and pandemic Methods: A reliability and validity study was performed in convenience sample of the population in Greece. Data were collected online through social media between 15 August and 7 September 2021. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire were assessed with a Delphi study, an exploratory factor analysis, and a testretest study. Also, we calculated Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the factors that emerged from the exploratory factor analysis. Results: 1959 people included in the study, adults from the population in Greece. Our four-factor model explained 73% of the variance and confirmed out initial hypothesis regarding the factors of the questionnaire. In particular, we found four factors: (a) fear against the COVID-19 (five items), (b) information regarding the COVID-19 (two items), (c) compliance with hygiene measures (two items), and (d) trust in COVID-19 vaccination (seven items). Cronbach's coefficients alpha for the four factors that emerged from the exploratory factor analysis were greater than 0.82. Pearson's correlation coefficients for the 16 items and the four factors were greater than 0.67 (p-value<0.001 in all cases). Conclusions: A reliable and valid questionnaire was developed to measure attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and pandemic. Further studies are neded to expand our knowledge and infer more valid results.