Reliability and validity of a Malay-version questionnaire assessing knowledge of breastfeeding
- Author:
Tengku Alina Tengku Ismail
;
Zaharah Sulaiman
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
breastfeeding, knowledge, reliability and validity, questionnaires, medical sciences
- From:Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
2010;17(3):32-39
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background: There is a need to identify the knowledge that mothers have about breastfeeding
to help promote it. Therefore, it is important to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire to provide
useful and comparable data about breastfeeding knowledge. The objectives of this study were to
determine the reliability and validity of a Malay version of a questionnaire assessing breastfeeding
knowledge and describe the breastfeeding knowledge level among respondents.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 January to 31 May 2008 among female
staff working at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus. A self-administered questionnaire
containing 53 items assessing breastfeeding knowledge was given to respondents. The questions were
adapted and modified from a breastfeeding questionnaire developed by a team of Hospital Universiti
Sains Malaysia paediatric nurses. Exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability, and
descriptive analysis of respondents’ knowledge were conducted.
Results: A total of 252 female staff participated in the study. Factor analysis constructed 10
domains of knowledge and excluded 6 items, leaving 47 items in the final questionnaire. Cronbach’s
alpha of the final questionnaire was 0.77. Respondents’ lowest knowledge was on the practical
aspects of breastfeeding.
Conclusion: The questionnaire is reliable and valid to assess the breastfeeding knowledge of
Malaysian women.
- Full text:W020151022495217539417.pdf
