A 26-item questionnaire showed preliminary evidence of validity and satisfactory reliability for assessing several dimensions of postpartum sexual and reproductive health among Iranian women, according to a study abstract in Scientific Reports. The tool, called the Postpartum Sexual and Reproductive Health Questionnaire (PSRHQ), is intended to measure areas including spouse abuse, postpartum care, marital problems, and psychological-emotional problems.
The exploratory sequential mixed-method study proceeded in three phases. In the qualitative phase, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 mothers, five husbands, and six midwives. Findings from those interviews informed an initial pool of 98 questionnaire items. Researchers subsequently assessed content validity, face validity, construct validity, and reliability, with the psychometric phase reducing the initial item pool to a final questionnaire containing 26 items.
Exploratory factor analysis extracted four factors from the 26-item PSRHQ: spouse abuse, postpartum care, marital problems, and psychological-emotional problems. The instrument had a total Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.899, which the abstract reports as evidence of satisfactory internal consistency, and an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.846, which provided evidence of test–retest reliability. These results support the preliminary measurement properties of the questionnaire in the study setting, but the abstract does not provide the size or detailed characteristics of the psychometric evaluation sample.
The findings remain preliminary and require further validation before broader use. The abstract identifies confirmatory factor analysis and evaluation of criterion-related, longitudinal, and cross-cultural measurement properties as necessary next steps. Because the supplied evidence consists of the article abstract rather than the complete study report, it does not establish how the instrument performed in populations or settings beyond the population and scope evaluated in the study.
Subject of Research: Preliminary psychometric evaluation of a postpartum sexual and reproductive health questionnaire in Iranian women
Article Title: Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of the postpartum sexual and reproductive health questionnaire (PSRHQ) in Iranian women
Article References: Rezaei, N., Namazi, M., Sharifi, N., Moghadam, Z. B., Tahmasebi, A., & Taheri, S. (2026). Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of the postpartum sexual and reproductive health questionnaire (PSRHQ) in Iranian women. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-73330-z
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-73330-z
Keywords: postpartum health, questionnaire development, psychometric evaluation, Iranian women, mixed-methods study, reliability, construct validity, exploratory factor analysis, Development, preliminary, psychometric, evaluation
News Source: Denise Maddox. (October 20, 2026). Mixed-method study finds preliminary validity for 26-item postpartum health questionnaire in Iranian women. Scienmag.
