Development and psychometric evaluation of the Research Laboratory Safe Behavior Survey (RLSBS)

Abstract

Background Predicting the potential for unsafe behaviors can help inform laboratory personnel, environmental health and safety (EH&S) staff, and administration of possible risks. To date, an instrument to evaluate possible levels of safe/unsafe behaviors using leading indicators specific in the research laboratory environment has not been developed. The author aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of such an instrument for use with researchers working at colleges and universities. Methods A team of environmental health and safety professionals with experience in laboratory safety and laboratory safety training worked with active laboratory researchers to develop items to measure the potential for safe behaviors. A cross-sectional design was used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Research Laboratory Safe Behaviors Survey (RLSBS). A Cronbach’s alpha was calculated as a measure of internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the internal structure of the instrument for content validity, and a criterion-related correlational study compared observed behaviors to the results of the RLSBS. Results A total of 261 active researchers met the eligibility criteria and completed the RLSBS survey. The RLSBS demonstrated acceptable content validity and internal consistency reliability ( α = 0.720). Exploratory factor analysis identified a two-factor model that explained 53.64% of the variance with acceptable fit (CFI = 0.902 and SRMR = 0.0656) for construct validity. A subset of the sample (n = 59) was used to establish criterion-related validity by comparing scores on the RLSBS to observable behaviors demonstrating a correlation of r = 0.461 (p Limitations This study used a convenience sample that did not control for social desirability. Conclusions The newly developed RLSBS is a promising instrument to measure a notable gap in the assessment of safe behaviors in research laboratories. This instrument has the potential for use in identifying unsafe behaviors before accidents, injuries or damages occur. Additionally, this instrument may be used by EH&S professionals to effectively direct training and administrative controls to improve the culture of safety at research institutions.