Assessment of the validity and reliability of the Decisional Conflict Scale for pregnant women in Iran

Engaging pregnant women in selecting the delivery type has been recognized as an important factor for world health. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Iranian version of Low Literacy Decisional Conflict Scale (DSC-LL) in Iran.

The English version of DCS-LL was translated and administered to 54 women eligible for selecting the type of delivery. The quantity content validity, the Content Validity Rate (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI) were examined. The reliability of the scale was assessed by two methods of internal consistency and test–retest via intra-class correlation coefficient, and Pearson correlation coefficient.

All 10 items had CVR points ranging from 0.8 to 1.0. The scores on the four subscales of this scale revealed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha= 0.847). Test-retest reliability via Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) (ICC=0.981) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r=0.083) was significant at the level of P<0.001.

The results showed that the Iranian version of DCS-LL is a valid, reliable and appropriate tool to be administered to pregnant women for selecting the type of delivery. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the influence of health literacy on this scale.