Development and psychometric evaluation of the sexual and reproductive health needs of incarcerated women scale: a methodological study

Abstract

Background This study aimed to develop and validate a comprehensive tool designed to assess the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of incarcerated women. Methods A methodological study was conducted from January to March 2023 in two female prisons in Tehran and Hamedan, Iran. The participant pool consisted of women who had been incarcerated for a minimum of 6 months and were aged between 15 and 49 years. The instrument development involved two phases. Phase I involved a literature review and interviews with incarcerated women to understand their SRH needs. Phase II assessed psychometric properties to establish the scale’s validity and reliability. Results The SRH Needs of Incarcerated Women (SRH-NIW) scale was refined, comprising 37 items across six domains: pregnancy and childbirth services, parenting services, family planning and sexual health services, personal and medical care services, screening services and infection control services. Exploratory factor analysis explained 66.15% of variance. The Content Validity Ratio and Content Validity Index were 0.8 and 0.94, respectively, indicating high content validity. Average Variance Extracted values ranged from 0.592 to 0.698. The whole scale showed a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.823, and the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient was 0.879. Conclusion The SRH-NIW scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the SRH needs of incarcerated women. It can enhance healthcare services and interventions for incarcerated women, potentially leading to policy improvements within the prison system.