Abstract

Background: The functional status questionnaire is aimed as a self-administered functional assessment of the mothers’ performance in the postpartum period based on five different areas, including baby care, personal care, household, social and community, and occupational activities. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the functional status questionnaire for assessing Iranian women in the postpartum period. Methods: In this cross-sectional, methodological study, 200 Iranian women were selected randomly via a two-stage cluster sampling method at the end of the postpartum 6th week from healthcare centers in six areas of Tehran (the capital of Iran). The translation validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by forward and backward translation. Content-related validity was determined in two qualitative and quantitative sections, respectively, by evaluating the experts’ opinions and calculating of content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI), while the face validity was evaluated by a sample of 30 mothers in the postpartum period. To determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was used. The reliability was determined in terms of reproducibility via the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) by test-retest and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha). Results: The CVI and CVR as the indices for content validity were 0.88 and 0.82, respectively. Further, the reliability was good, both in terms of reproducibility (ICC = 0.96)andinternal consistency (= 0.73). The construct validity wasalso supported by the exploratory factor analysis for all four areas of functional status. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) index of household, social and community, baby care, and personal care activities subscales was calculated as 0.85, 0.85, 0.56, and 0.50, respectively. The total variance (%) for household activities, social and community, baby care, and personal care was 56.86, 53.94, 38.07, and 43.39. All items with a minimum and maximum factor loading of 0.2 and 0.96 are placed at the right factor. Conclusions: The findings support the instrument’s validity and reliability. Therefore, it is recommended to be used for both clinical and research purposes.

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