Measurement properties of the questionnaire “Mosaic of opinions on induced abortion”: a multicenter study in seven Brazilian hospitals

Abstract

SUMMARY In Brasil, abortion is legal in cases of rape, when there is a risk of maternal death, and in cases of fetal anencephaly. However, the literature reports that some doctors refuse to care for women with such demands or come to perform it in a discriminatory manner. OBJECTIVE: Pretest, test and evaluate the measurement properties of the “Mosaic of Opinions on Induced Abortion,” a questionnaire developed to investigate the perspectives of Brazilian healthcare professionals about the morality of abortion. METHODS: Firstly, the questionnaire was pretested in an intentional sample of specialists. Secondly, it was tested in a randomized sample of 32 healthcare professionals. Finally, we conducted a multi-center study in seven university hospitals to evaluate the measurement properties of the questionnaire. RESULTS: Combined samples of the three phases totalized 430 individuals. In pretest and test, all the evaluated aspects obtained satisfactory results. In the multicenter phase, confirmatory factorial analysis led to an important reduction of the questionnaire, which also obtained good indicators of reliability, beyond the validation of construct and criteria. CONCLUSION: Questionnaire has been validated and is suitable for use in other surveys in Brasil.