Assessing Preliminary Feasibility of Health Care Empowerment Questionnaire among Women in Reproductive Age Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

One of the most important requirements in the health fields is the availability of standard measurement tools to assess the health status. This study aimed to design and determine the validity and reliability of health care empowerment questionnaire among women in reproductive age based on the theory of planned behavior.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 488 married women (15-49 years old) using self-administered questionnaire that were selected by multistage random sampling method in south health centers affiliated to Tehran university of medical sciences in 2018. The validity of the questionnaire was determined using content, criterion and face validity, and its reliability was determined using Cronbachchr('39')s alpha and Wilcoxon test using SPSS-24 software.

In order to evaluate the validity, four questions with less content validity indices were modified and the necessary changes were made. Then, their validity steps were repeated and desired values, i.e., the content validity ratio more than 0.62 and content validity index more than 0.79, were obtained. The reliability was calculated in the value greater than 0.7. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the theory-based questionnaire of health care empowerment were acceptable (α=0.96). The content validity index and content validity ratio were also satisfactory (CVI=87%, CVR=% 89).

This theory-oriented questionnaire can be used as a valid and reliable tool for assessing the health care empowerment among married women in reproductive age.