E-cigarette use is growing among New Zealand young people, yet their perceptions of the harms of e-cigarette use are unknown. This study aimed to determine domains and specific items for inquiry to inform the creation of a questionnaire assessing the perceptions of harms of e-cigarette use in this group.

An integrative literature review generated a preliminary list of survey items and domains. A Delphi study involving 6 expert academics was undertaken to verify and refine this list. The consensus was facilitated through online, structured communication.

Previous data collection attempts included items assessing participants’ knowledge of e-cigarettes, their current e-cigarette and cigarette use, and how harmful they perceived e-cigarettes to be relative to cigarettes. The Delphi study refined the initial list of items while contributing additional considerations. A total of 54 items were organized into 7 domains: “E-cigarette Knowledge,” “Cigarette Use,” “E-cigarette Use,” “E-cigarette Relative Harm,” “E-cigarette Promotion,” “Acceptability (E-cigarettes and Cigarettes)”, and (“General Introduction”) items on participants’ identity characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity).

Each of the items will inform the design of a questionnaire assessing New Zealand young people’s perceptions of the harms of e-cigarette use. Development of these items will involve further literature reviewing, focus groups with end-users, and a pilot study.