Development and Validation of the Menstrual Health Outcome Questionnaire to Evaluate QoL among Women during Menstrual Cycle

Abstract

Menstruation is a physiological process experienced by adolescent girls and women. Menstruation and premenstrual symptoms affect the Quality of Life. Different scales are available to measure QoL for different gynecological problems, but none are available for QoL during menstruation. WHO defines QoL as an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a multidimensional concept that includes physical, mental, emotional and social functioning domains. It goes beyond direct measure of population health, life expectancy and causes of death and focuses on the impact of health status on quality of life. To develop a comprehensive instrument to assess the health-related QoL among women during menstruation. The creation of a scale to assess QoL during the menstrual cycle is indeed a significant endeavor. Menstrual health outcomes questionnaire contains 35 questions from different domains. After getting ethical approval pilot and pivotal study were conducted. Adolescents were randomly recruited in the study. Data was captured and entered in SPSS version 20. Principle factor analysis was determined to find construct validity among independent and dependent variables. Man-Whitney U-test was determined. A questionnaire has Cronbach’s alpha 0.796, determined 35 questions. The intraclass correlation coefficient was found 0.786. KMO and Bartlett’s test was found 0.820 with high significance (p = 0.000). The menstrual health outcome questionnaire has been established as a valid and reliable tool for assessing the QoL among women during menstruation.