Development of a breastfeeding support scale in the workplace and psychometric properties of Turkish version: a validity and reliability.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to develop a workplace breastfeeding support scale for working mothers and examine their psychometric properties. This methodological research was conducted between February and April 2022. This study included 325 mothers who continued breastfeeding while working. The tool development stages included item generation, expert review for content validity testing, and psychometric testing. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews between February and April 2022. In data analysis, for explanatory factor analysis, the direct oblimin technique and scree plot test were performed. Structural equation modeling was performed for confirmatory factor analysis. Two sub-dimensions (manager support, environmental support) and a nine-item workplace breastfeeding support scale showed good validity and reliability. The Cronbach's alpha value of the total scale and sub-dimensions of the scale were greater than 0.70. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fit indices were acceptable (χ2 = 68.658, χ2/df = 2.64, CFI = 0.94, GFI = 0.96, AGFI = 0.92, and RMSEA = 0.07). The total variance explained by the scale was 54.32 percent. This newly developed 9-item and 2-dimensional version is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the working mothers' perception of workplace breastfeeding support. This tool is recommended to be verified in other low, middle, and high-income countries.