Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
Background/Objectives: The World Health Organization recommends skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, yet the practice rate remains low in Saudi Arabia, impacting the health and well-being of mother–baby dyads. No previous studies have explored Saudi women’s attitudes toward skin-to-skin con...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Nursing Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/14/4/215 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Background/Objectives: The World Health Organization recommends skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, yet the practice rate remains low in Saudi Arabia, impacting the health and well-being of mother–baby dyads. No previous studies have explored Saudi women’s attitudes toward skin-to-skin contact, a critical factor in developing strategies to increase its adoption. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument to assess attitudes toward skin-to-skin contact among women in Saudi Arabia. Methods: An instrument was developed by modifying the validated “Mother–Newborn Skin-to-Skin Contact Questionnaire”. Psychometric testing was conducted to validate the instrument through a cross-cultural survey involving 383 participants recruited from two hospitals in Saudi Arabia using a convenience sampling method. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.885, indicating that the sample size was suitable for performing exploratory factor analysis. Results: The overall Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.85, reflecting adequate internal consistency of the questionnaire. The criteria of the two-factor confirmatory factor analysis were also met. The majority of women (85.6%) demonstrated a positive attitude towards skin-to-skin contact. A positive correlation was observed between higher educational levels and the total attitude score (r = 0.161, <i>p</i> = 0.002). Conclusions: The developed questionnaire is a reliable tool for measuring attitudes towards skin-to-skin contact among women in Saudi Arabia. The findings highlight the importance of educational interventions to improve the uptake of this practice. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2039-439X 2039-4403 |