Development and validation of Midwifery Vocational Perception Scale

Background & aim: Vocation perception of midwives is important in terms of their sense and level of professionalism. The  purpose of this study was to develop and validate Midwifery Vocational Perception Scale.Methods: This validation study was carried out at five public hospitals located in Istanbul, Turkey from October ۱st to December ۳۰th, ۲۰۱۹. In the first stage, ۶۸ items draft form was prepared. After receiving the opinion of seven experts, the face validity of the scale was tested with ۲۰ midwives. In the second stage, the ۵-point ۵۲-item Likert scale was administered to ۲۸۲ midwives. However, since the outliers were deleted before the factor analysis, the analysis was performed for only the data of ۲۳۲ people. Factor and confirmatory analyses and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were used to analyze the scale validity and reliability.Results: According to the exploratory factor analysis, the scale consisted of ۱۶ items and three factors that explained ۵۳.۰۸۵% of the the scale variance.  Confirmatory factor analysis fit index results were found as CMIN=۱۷۵,۴۲۷, DF=۹۷, p<۰.۰۰۱, CMIN/DF=۱.۸۰۹, RMSEA=۰.۰۵۹, CFI=۰.۹۳۳, GFI= ۰.۹۱۶. The Cronbach’s alpha value of scale was determined to be ۰.۸۶۵. The lowest anyone scored was ۱۶, the highest was ۸۰, while  the mean score was ۸۷.۷۱ ±۷.۴۶ (min: ۶۷, max: ۹۵).Conclusion: A high score indicates positive vocational perception and occupational opinions in midwifery, while a low score indicates negative vocational perception and occupational opinions. The Midwifery vocational Perception Scale was prepared in Turkish and a validity study in other cultures is recommended.

Keywords:

Midwifery , Vocation perception , Validity , Reliability , Scale Development