Adaptação transcultural e validação da maternal postpartum quality of life questionnaire : aplicação em puérperas brasileiras

Abstract

Although the importance of postnatal morbidity has recently been recognized, information about its impact on mother’s experiences is limited, which suggests that the quality of life (QOL) in postpartum women is a topic that deserves more attention. In this sense, the measurement of quality of life through the perception of the patient has been recommended. This study aimed to adapt the Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire for Portuguese in the Br azilian context, verify the psychometric properties of Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire in the Brazil, analyze the re lationship between the Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire scores and maternal variables, and identify predi ctors of quality of life among Brazilian postpartum mothers. This is a methodological study with a quantitative approach, performed in a public hospital specializing in obstetrics in Fortaleza - Ceará .The study started after received a copy - right authorizati on from the author of the scale and followed two steps: transcultural adaptation, as indicated by Beaton et al . (2007) and analysis of the psychometric properties (validity and reliability). The sample consisted of 210 women between 7 and 10 days postpartu m. Data collection was done during April to July, 2012 nd was conducted through interview technique, w ith the application of Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire and a form with demographic and obstetric information from participants. The ana lyzes of the maternal data, quality of life scores and psychometric properties were performed using the Statisti cal Package for Social Sciences, version 21.0. The process of transcultural adaptation resulted in a scale with 3 9 items, six items revalued by disagreement between the expert panel and insertion of modifications within t wo items, in response to face validity. Thus, the final Index of Con cordance between judges for Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire was 0.97. Factor analysis was the means chosen to construct validation of the instrument. The same number of domains of the original version was kept, differing only in the relocation of 20 items across all domains, according to varimax rotation. The total Cronbach alpha was 0.89, indicat ing the reliability of the instrument. The discriminant validity was confirmed by the differences in scores between Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire in contrasted groups. The mean score obtained from Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Que stionnaire was 15.24 and there was a statistically significant correlation between marital status (p = 0.01), race (p = 0.04) and educational level (p = 0.01), with the total of scale scores. According to multiple regression analysis of variables and scale scores, only marital status and race could be considered predictors of quality of life. We conclude that the Brazilian version from the Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire can be considered a specific, reliable and valid instrument for measu ring quality of life, easy to understand and apply during the postpartum period. The use of the Maternal Postpartum Quality of Life Questionnaire in Brazil can guide researchers and/or professionals in the field of women's health into the planning, impleme ntation and evaluation of health interventions to enhance the quality of life, making them promoters of maternal health.