Journal of Reproduction & Infertility

Journal of Reproduction & Infertility

Developing “Quality of Life in Infertile Couples Questionnaire” and Measuring its Psychometric Properties

Authors
Farideh Yaghmaei 1
Shamaneh Mohammadi 2
Hamid Alavimajd 3
1 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Internal Medicine and Surgery, Nasibeh Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran, Iran
3 Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Paramedical, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Numerous studies point to the increasing prevalence of infertility around the world. This entity has usually taken its toll on infertile couples and has left them prone to psychosocial problems. Measuring quality of life of infertile couples can help health policy makers provide services tailored to the needs of this group of people. The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure the quality of life of infertile couples and test its validity and reliability.Materials and Methods: In this exploratory study, we defined and determined the dimensions of quality of life in infertile couples by reviewing the literature and interviewing infertile couples. Finally, Quality of Life in Infertile Couples Questionnaire (QOLICQ) with 95 Likert-type items was developed.Results: In analyzing the content validity index, items with more than 79% validity were kept and the number of items was reduced to 79 in the questionnaire. Factor analysis showed seven factors in the questionnaire. An internal consistency of 0.71- 0.95 and a test-retest reliability of 0.81 - 0.04 were calculated for the seven factors. Therefore, the seven previously mentioned factors were omitted because of decreased value in factor analysis and redundancy, leaving 72 items in the questionnaire. Content validity index (CVI) of the questionnaire was measured by a panel of 10 experts and 10 infertile couples based on its "relevance", "clarity" and "simplicity" on a four-point scale. Then, construct validity (factor analysis) was measured by 150 infertile subjects. To determine reliability, internal consistency and test-retest reliability were measured. Conclusion: The Quality of Life in Infertile Couples Questionnaire (QOLICQ), which includes 72 Likert-type items, is a valid and reliable tool for measuring quality of life of infertile couples. Measuring other types of validity, such as discriminate and concurrent validity are recommended.
Keywords
Infertility
Psychometric analysis
Quality of Life
Questionnaire
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Journal of Reproduction & Infertility
Volume 10, Issue 2
Summer 2009
Pages 137-143