Validity and reliability of a scale to detect sick building syndrome in health personnel of a hospital: Pilot test

Abstract

Background: The implementation and use of pilot studies have become a more common exercise in the last 20 years, these studies aim to specify the results at the time of conducting the main study. The World Health Organization defined Sick Building Syndrome as a disease in 1982, due to the presence of discomforts related to the air conditioning of hermetic buildings, for which it was considered necessary to design a scale for its detection. Objective: To determine the validity and reliability of a scale to detect the sick building syndrome in the health personnel of a private hospital in Mexico.

Methods: Study with a quantitative, observational, descriptive, non-experimental, and cross-sectional design, for the validation of a scale. Sample: 30 health workers in a private hospital in the city of Guadalajara. Phases: 1) Design and construction of the SEEKARA Scale: Sick Building Syndrome (in hospital settings), 2) Application of the designed instrument, 3) Validation by expert judges.

Results: The validity percentages by the judges were 24% as a very good instrument, 54% good, 18% regular, 1% bad and 1% did not respond.

Conclusions: The result of the evaluation presented by the judges and the external respondents, allowed the integration of a precise questionnaire to evaluate the sick building syndrome and anticipate the risks to the health of the health personnel and conclude the scale with 58 items with five dimensions: Agents physical, chemical and biological agents, ergonomic agents, psychosocial agents, and physical and psychological symptoms.