Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,234 studies31 sourcesUpdated 46 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYOne Health

Development and validation of a novel scale to evaluate dog owners' knowledge and awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases

  • Salar Zarrabi Ahrabi1
  • Zeynep Dilşah Karaçam Yilmaz2
  • Gökçe Merey3
  • Sait Alizade4
  • Sude Su5
  • Irem Vatansever6
  • Gürkan Akyildiz3
  • Ayşen Gargili Keleş3
6 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Basic Health Science, Health Sciences Faculty, Marmara University, Istanbul, Türkiye; Corresponding author at: Marmara University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Sciences, M.U. Basibuyuk Campus, 9/4/1 Maltepe, 34854 Istanbul, Türkiye.
  2. 2Department of Midwifery, Health Sciences Faculty, Marmara University, Istanbul, Türkiye
  3. 3Department of Basic Health Science, Health Sciences Faculty, Marmara University, Istanbul, Türkiye
  4. 4Graduate in Veterinary Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5Department of Basic Health Science, Health Sciences Institute, Marmara University, Istanbul, Türkiye
  6. 6Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Institute of Health Sciences, Balıkesir University, Türkiye
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Ticks and tick-borne diseases represent a serious public health concern, posing significant risks to both human and animal health. Dogs can host a wide range of tick species, many of which serve as vectors for zoonotic pathogens. In this methodological study, we generated a 23-item pool and evaluated it with eight experts to establish content validity. After a preliminary pilot test to ensure item clarity, the draft scale was administered to 100 dog owners visiting a veterinary clinic in Istanbul. Content validity was assessed using Lawshe's method, construct validity was examined through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses, and reliability was evaluated using item–total correlations and Cronbach's alpha. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 24.0, with p < .05 considered significant. Item–total correlation analysis resulted in the removal of four items with coefficients below 0.30, while the remaining items showed acceptable values ranging from 0.381 to 0.634. After refinement based on reliability and factor-analytic criteria, the final 17-item scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). Descriptive analyses indicated that the lowest awareness levels were associated with personal protective measures against tick exposure.

Related

  1. Development and psychometric validation of Mpox knowledge and preventive behavior measures in the Turkish population
    Ayşe Çal, Akgün Yeşiltepe, Funda Kocaay
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0MicrobiologyCrossref
  2. 1079 Development of a biologically aligned ex vivo TumorGraft3D platform to evaluate STC-1010-mediated immune priming and colorectal tumor killing
    Francois Ghiringhelli, Ignacio Melero, Maria Mancini +8
    Journal for ImmunoTherapy of CancerPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textImmunologyDOAJ
  3. Development and psychometric properties of a questionnaire to evaluate the professional behavior of medical residents
    Shahsanam Gheibi, Mohammad Heidari, Alireza Alemi +4
    PLOS OnePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textNeuroscienceStatisticsPLOS
  4. Global knowledge structure and thematic evolution in inflammation-associated gastric cancer epigenetics: a multidatabase science-mapping study with nested latent Dirichlet allocation and independent NMF validation
    Zhiwen Li, Xiaofeng Wang, Rui Li +2
    Frontiers in immunologyPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textImmunologyEurope PMC
  5. A trustworthy semantic knowledge network linking data-driven cell phenotypes to diseases and drugs
    B. Xu, A. Deslattes Mays, M. Diller +19
    bioRxivPreprintCC0Full textBioinformatics & computational biologybioRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{ahrabi2026development,
  title = {{Development and validation of a novel scale to evaluate dog owners' knowledge and awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases}},
  author = {Salar Zarrabi Ahrabi and Zeynep Dilşah Karaçam Yilmaz and Gökçe Merey and Sait Alizade and Sude Su and Irem Vatansever and Gürkan Akyildiz and Ayşen Gargili Keleş},
  journal = {One Health},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1016/j.onehlt.2026.101615},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2026.101615},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Development and validation of a novel scale to evaluate dog owners' knowledge and awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases
AU  - Salar Zarrabi Ahrabi
AU  - Zeynep Dilşah Karaçam Yilmaz
AU  - Gökçe Merey
AU  - Sait Alizade
AU  - Sude Su
AU  - Irem Vatansever
AU  - Gürkan Akyildiz
AU  - Ayşen Gargili Keleş
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/17
JO  - One Health
DO  - 10.1016/j.onehlt.2026.101615
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2026.101615
AB  - Ticks and tick-borne diseases represent a serious public health concern, posing significant risks to both human and animal health. Dogs can host a wide range of tick species, many of which serve as vectors for zoonotic pathogens. In this methodological study, we generated a 23-item pool and evaluated it with eight experts to establish content validity. After a preliminary pilot test to ensure item clarity, the draft scale was administered to 100 dog owners visiting a veterinary clinic in Istanbul. Content validity was assessed using Lawshe's method, construct validity was examined through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses, and reliability was evaluated using item–total correlations and Cronbach's alpha. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 24.0, with p < .05 considered significant. Item–total correlation analysis resulted in the removal of four items with coefficients below 0.30, while the remaining items showed acceptable values ranging from 0.381 to 0.634. After refinement based on reliability and factor-analytic criteria, the final 17-item scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). Descriptive analyses indicated that the lowest awareness levels were associated with personal protective measures against tick exposure.
SN  - 2352-7714
ER  -