Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study

Background/Objectives: The World Health Organization recommends skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, yet the practice rate remains low in Saudi Arabia, impacting the health and well-being of mother–baby dyads. No previous studies have explored Saudi women’s attitudes toward skin-to-skin con...

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Main Authors: Abeer Hawsawi, Ritin Fernandez, Maria Mackay, Ibrahim Alananzeh, Abbas Al Mutair
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Nursing Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/14/4/215
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author Abeer Hawsawi
Ritin Fernandez
Maria Mackay
Ibrahim Alananzeh
Abbas Al Mutair
author_facet Abeer Hawsawi
Ritin Fernandez
Maria Mackay
Ibrahim Alananzeh
Abbas Al Mutair
author_sort Abeer Hawsawi
collection DOAJ
description Background/Objectives: The World Health Organization recommends skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, yet the practice rate remains low in Saudi Arabia, impacting the health and well-being of mother–baby dyads. No previous studies have explored Saudi women’s attitudes toward skin-to-skin contact, a critical factor in developing strategies to increase its adoption. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument to assess attitudes toward skin-to-skin contact among women in Saudi Arabia. Methods: An instrument was developed by modifying the validated “Mother–Newborn Skin-to-Skin Contact Questionnaire”. Psychometric testing was conducted to validate the instrument through a cross-cultural survey involving 383 participants recruited from two hospitals in Saudi Arabia using a convenience sampling method. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.885, indicating that the sample size was suitable for performing exploratory factor analysis. Results: The overall Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.85, reflecting adequate internal consistency of the questionnaire. The criteria of the two-factor confirmatory factor analysis were also met. The majority of women (85.6%) demonstrated a positive attitude towards skin-to-skin contact. A positive correlation was observed between higher educational levels and the total attitude score (r = 0.161, <i>p</i> = 0.002). Conclusions: The developed questionnaire is a reliable tool for measuring attitudes towards skin-to-skin contact among women in Saudi Arabia. The findings highlight the importance of educational interventions to improve the uptake of this practice.
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spelling doaj-art-e0bf87339faa4345bdd2dfd88fddbb2c2025-08-20T02:01:20ZengMDPI AGNursing Reports2039-439X2039-44032024-10-011442946295510.3390/nursrep14040215Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation StudyAbeer Hawsawi0Ritin Fernandez1Maria Mackay2Ibrahim Alananzeh3Abbas Al Mutair4College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh 12372, Saudi ArabiaSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2258, AustraliaSchool of Nursing and Indigenous Health Discipline, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaSchool of Nursing, The University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dubai P.O. Box 20183, United Arab EmiratesSchool of Nursing, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaBackground/Objectives: The World Health Organization recommends skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, yet the practice rate remains low in Saudi Arabia, impacting the health and well-being of mother–baby dyads. No previous studies have explored Saudi women’s attitudes toward skin-to-skin contact, a critical factor in developing strategies to increase its adoption. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an instrument to assess attitudes toward skin-to-skin contact among women in Saudi Arabia. Methods: An instrument was developed by modifying the validated “Mother–Newborn Skin-to-Skin Contact Questionnaire”. Psychometric testing was conducted to validate the instrument through a cross-cultural survey involving 383 participants recruited from two hospitals in Saudi Arabia using a convenience sampling method. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.885, indicating that the sample size was suitable for performing exploratory factor analysis. Results: The overall Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.85, reflecting adequate internal consistency of the questionnaire. The criteria of the two-factor confirmatory factor analysis were also met. The majority of women (85.6%) demonstrated a positive attitude towards skin-to-skin contact. A positive correlation was observed between higher educational levels and the total attitude score (r = 0.161, <i>p</i> = 0.002). Conclusions: The developed questionnaire is a reliable tool for measuring attitudes towards skin-to-skin contact among women in Saudi Arabia. The findings highlight the importance of educational interventions to improve the uptake of this practice.https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/14/4/215nursingskin-to-skin contactattitudehealth and well-beingpsychometric testing
spellingShingle Abeer Hawsawi
Ritin Fernandez
Maria Mackay
Ibrahim Alananzeh
Abbas Al Mutair
Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
Nursing Reports
nursing
skin-to-skin contact
attitude
health and well-being
psychometric testing
title Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
title_full Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
title_fullStr Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
title_full_unstemmed Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
title_short Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Version of the Attitude Toward Skin-to-Skin Contact Instrument among Women in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study
title_sort psychometric testing of an arabic version of the attitude toward skin to skin contact instrument among women in saudi arabia a cross cultural validation study
topic nursing
skin-to-skin contact
attitude
health and well-being
psychometric testing
url https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/14/4/215
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