Development of the Pregnancy and Motherhood Evaluation Questionnaire (PMEQ) for evaluating and measuring the impact of physical disability on pregnancy and the management of motherhood: a pilot study

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire that allows researchers to investigate and measure the impact of physical disability on pregnancy and the management of motherhood. Such a questionnaire requires good internal consistency.

Methods

The tool was developed following a study conducted in 2013 in the United States consisting of a semi-structured interview with open-ended questions. A team of three experts drafted and refined the questions, generating 31 retrospective, self-rated, and predefined questions (answered using a 5-point Likert scale). A statistical analysis of the instrument was also included, to assess its reliability and internal consistency.

Results

The Pregnancy and Motherhood Evaluation Questionnaire (PMEQ) was prepared. It is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of an initial section and three subscales. In this phase of the study, 35 women with different pathologies leading to physical disability were recruited and completed the questionnaire. The PMEQ was found to have a good internal consistency. Cronbach’s α was 0.812 (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

The PMEQ has proven to be a valid, reliable, and rapid administrative tool useful for investigating and measuring the impact of physical disability on the management of pregnancy and motherhood.

IMPLICATION FOR REHABILITATION

• This study provides researchers and clinicians a new tool for the evaluation of motherhood and pregnancy in women with physical disabilities.

• The PMEQ has proven to be a valid, reliable, and rapid administrative tool (10 min) useful for investigating and measuring the impact of physical disability on the management of pregnancy and motherhood.

• It is a new tool useful in both clinical and research practice to underline the importance of carrying out preventive and woman-centered assistance interventions.

• This tool is useful for promoting the autonomous management of pregnancy and motherhood in women with physical disabilities, and improving these women’s quality of life and sense of satisfaction and competence in managing maternal tasks.

Keywords:

• Caregiver
• disability
• parents
• pregnancy
• reliability
• test

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge those who participated in the survey.

Statement of human and animal rights

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

Statement of ethics

We certify that all applicable institutional and governmental regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers were followed during the course of this research.

Disclosure statement

All authors declare no involvement with organization(s) with financial interest in the subject matter of the paper, or any actual or potential conflict of interest-and if no conflict exist, a statement must be included for each author.