Reliability and validity of the March of dimes preconception/prenatal family health history questionnaire: The Persian version

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a remarkable gap between rapid advancements in genetic technology and public health practice. Looking at the familial health history may bridge this gap for easier and cheaper diagnosis and prevention of congenital anomalies. The aim of this study was to validate and culturally adapt the March of Dimes Preconception/Prenatal Family Health History Questionnaire for the Iranian population. After obtaining written permission from March of Dimes, the translation-back translation of the original questionnaire was performed. The content validity was assessed by a team of 12 experts. Based on a sample of 50 general practitioners and 100 subjects referred to health centers from September to November 2014 in Tabriz, Iran, test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability were evaluated by Kappa and Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Content validity of the Persian version of the questionnaire was confirmed according to the modified kappa value above 0.76 for all the items included in this tool. Inter-rater reliability assessment yielded a kappa value between 0.62 and 0.92 for variables with dichotomous measurement scales and ICC ranged from 0.6 to 0.9 for variables with numeric scales. Test-retest re-administration produced kappa ranging from 0.62 to 0.92 for variables with dichotomous measurement scales and ICC from 0.6 to 0.9 for variables with numeric scales. The Persian version of the March of Dimes preconception/prenatal family health history questionnaire showed acceptable reliability and validity and may be used as a simple tool for the detection of risk factors of birth defects in Iranian population.

Uses, Limitations, and Validity of a Registry of Congenital Anomalies in Iran: A Critical Review

“…We found that the accuracy of family physicians in case detection and diagnosis of congenital anomalies in rural areas is more than 98% [9]. We also investigated the occurrence rate (33 percent) of termination in pregnancies with congenital anomalies [10], and association of folic acid consumption and birth defects [11].…”

“…TRoCA has too seemingly succeeded in relation to its regional objectives: annual prevalence rates have been produced consistently over years [7], geographical comparisons have been made possible by linking the TRoCA with international programmes [1, 2], and TRoCA has provided data for some specific investigations [10, 11], service provision for selected anomalies [8], and created a validated tool for family practitioners for case detection and diagnosis of birth defects [9]. In response to the health care needs of high risk population, TRoCA is implementing control and preventive services for some genetic disorders and anomalies in the region [12].…”