Development and Validation of the Perception of Labor Pain Questionnaire among Iranian Women

BACKGROUND: Women’s perceptions of childbirth pain have not been measured adequately. The current study aimed to develop and validate the Iranian Women’s Perception of the Labor Pain Questionnaire. METHODS: The study included three phases. In the first phase, women’s perception of labor pain was explored and analyzed using content analysis. Then, an item pool was generated based on the results of the first phase. Lastly, psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated. The reliability and validity of the scale was determined. RESULTS: Findings of the qualitative phase generated a pool of 63 items. The Content Validity Index (CVI) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR) was calculated for each item and they were satisfactory in an acceptable range. After confirming the content and construct validity, 31 items were retained. Finally, the exploratory factor analysis displayed a five-factor structure for this scale. Perception of Labor Pain Questionnaire and subscale scores showed a good test-retest reliability (Interclass Coefficient, 0.96, P<0.001). The Cronbach’s alpha for the Perception of Labor Pain Questionnaire scores was 0.80 and for subscales it ranged from 0.68 to 0.83. CONCLUSION: This scale developed a multidimensional, valid, and reliable instrument to evaluate the women’s perceptions of labor pain.