Psychometric Analysis of Disrespect and Abuse Scale.

Abstract

Background: Disrespect and abuse of laboring and child-birthing women in health care is a global problem that violates the universal human rights of childbearing women. There is a lack of reliable and valid tools for measuring these behaviors. One instrument, the Disrespect and Abuse scale, has preliminary data with no established psychometrics in diverse populations. Further analysis is required to ensure the reliability and validity of this tool in diverse populations and health care settings.

Objectives: We examined the psychometric properties of the Disrespect and Abuse scale in diverse international nursing and midwifery populations.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to measure disrespect and abuse toward women during childbirth. Data were collected from 231 nurses and midwives across international labor and delivery units. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted using principal component analysis with oblimin rotation as the factor extraction method.

Results: The psychometric assessment yielded a two-factor structure. Factor 1 consisted of 13 items characterizing physical and verbal abuse. Factor 2 contained nine items reflecting disrespectful behaviors. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients reflected high internal consistency.

Discussion: The scale was shown to be reliable and valid in assessing self-reported disrespectful and abusive behaviors among nurses and midwives in a diverse international sample. Use could assist in the assessment of these behaviors in maternal health care facilities. Further research is warranted to confirm the scale's robustness and applicability across various populations and settings and use the Disrespect and Abuse scale to identify the burden and predictors of mistreatment of women in different health care settings.