Psychometric properties of a Persian version of Respectful Maternity Care Questionnaire

Abstract

Background: Getting a high quality and respectful care during pregnancy and delivery is one of the ways to reduce complications in women. Respectful care is a type of care that requires a valid instrument to measure. This study was conducted to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) questionnaire in 2018.Methods: This study was performed on 150 women (In the first 48 hours after delivery), who were admitted in the postpartum wards of public hospitals from 1st January until 6th April 2018 in Zanjan city in Iran. Participants were selected randomly using Poisson distribution (Time) sampling method. After receiving the permission from the questionnaire’s author, the internal consistency of the tool was measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient after the Forward translation of Persian version of the tool under the supervision of experts. The reliability of the modified questionnaire was assessed using a test-retest method in 10 eligible postpartum women, who completed the same questionnaire after 72 hours again. The validity of the tool was confirmed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL and SPSS soft wares. Results: The original RMC tool was achieved an overall high internal reliability (α =0.839). Confirmatory factor analysis of original RMC scores demonstrated poor fit indices. In LISREL proposed paths for model, one item was excluded and a re-exploratory factor analysis was performed with the remaining 14 items. Four new subscales were defined for the revised tool including Abusive Care, Effective Care, Friendly Care, and Respectful Communication , which explained 60% of the variance. Conclusions: The revised included four subscales of Abusive Care, Effective Care, Friendly Care, and Respectful Communication in 14 items which explained 60% of the variance. Given the importance of providing a high quality care in maternity, and variety of cultures and service delivery in different countries, further researches are needed on this RMC tool to be used in maternity care in different places.