Psychometric evaluation of the Early Labour Experience Questionnaire (ELEQ) in a Swedish population

IntroductionEarly labour is a period that women manage by their own often without any help from the profession. Research shows that women admitted to the hospital more often are subjected to medical interventions. To avoid... [ view full abstract ]

Introduction

Early labour is a period that women manage by their own often without any help from the profession. Research shows that women admitted to the hospital more often are subjected to medical interventions. To avoid unnecessary medical interventions clinical guidelines recommends women in early labour to stay outside the hospital until active labour is established. The Early Labour Experience Questionnaire (ELEQ), measure primiparas satisfaction with care. The questionnaire has not been used in a Swedish context.

The aim of this study was to psychometric test the Early Labour Experience Questionnaire among Swedish primi- and multiparous women, further to describe and compare women’s experiences with early labour care as per background characteristics and length of labour prior admittance.

Method

The ELEQ questionnaire was translated into Swedish and sent to women participating in a one-year cohort study in a County Council in Sweden. The ELEQ consist of 25 items with three domains: emotional wellbeing (n=8), emotional distress (n=6) and perceptions of midwifery care (n=8) and are measured on a Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (fully agree). Background questions were also added to the questionnaire.

Psychometric testing with explorative factor analyse was used including data from 183 primiparas and 132 multiparas fulfilling the questionnaire. Further analysis was performed with descriptive statistics with independent t-test or ANOVA, and scores for each of the subscales.

Results will be presented at the conference.