Translation and psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of the “Quality of Woman-Centered Midwifery Care Scale” in labor and childbirth

Abstract

Background The role of service recipients in defining service quality can be considered an important competitive criterion. Therefore, health care providers are trying to use quality assessment tools that emphasize client-centered. This study aimed to translate and psychometrically evaluate the “quality of woman-centered midwifery care” (QWC_MC) in labor and childbirth for use in Iran. methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in two parts: translation and psychometric evaluation. The process of translating the QWC_MC questionnaire to Persian followed the model proposed by Wild et al. Face validity was investigated using a qualitative method with the participation of 20 mothers. The content validity was evaluated by 10 experts using the content validity ratio and content validity index. The construct validity was investigated with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis by completing the questionnaire with 350 mothers who were admitted to the postpartum ward of hospitals (Imam Khomeini, Taleghani and Sina) affiliated with the University of Medical Sciences Ahvaz; these mothers were selected by convenience sampling. Reliability and repeatability were assessed using Cronbach’s α and the ICC. SPSS. V26 and STATA. V14 was used for the data analysis. Results The QWC-MC scale has 33 questions, and the translation and psychometric properties of its Persian version were confirmed. EFA identified four factors that accounted for 58.20% of the total variance. The structural validity of the extracted factors was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability and repeatability using Cronbach’s α and the ICC for the entire questionnaire were 0.88 and 0.99, respectively. Conclusions The findings show that the Persian version of the QWC-MC has good to acceptable validity and reliability. Therefore, it can be used as an effective tool to measure and evaluate the quality of woman-centered midwifery care during labor and childbirth in Iran.