Development of an Instrument to Assess the Quality of Childbirth Care from the Mother's Perspective

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to develop an instrument to assess the quality of childbirth care from the perspective of a mother after delivery. METHODS: The instrument was developed from a literature review, interviews, and item validation. Thirty-eight items were compiled for the instrument. The data for validity and reliability testing were collected using a questionnaire survey conducted on 270 women who had undergone normal vaginal delivery in Korea and analyzed with descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and reliability coefficients. RESULTS: The exploratory factor analysis reduced the number of items in the instrument to 28 items that were factored into four subscales family-centered care, personal care, emotional empowerment, and information provision. With respect to convergence validation, there was positive correlation between this instrument and birth satisfaction scale (r=.34, p < .001). The internal consistency reliability was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha =.96). CONCLUSION: This instrument could be used as a measure of the quality of nursing care for women who have a normal vaginal delivery.