Development and validation of Redeemer's University Primary Dysmenorrhea Screening Tool (RUN-PDST)

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is often overlooked, underdiagnosed, and under-treated. This study attempts to develop a standardized tool for assessing primary dysmenorrhea among women in their reproductive years. Methodology: This study utilized a mixed-method approach to sample young Nigerian women. Specifically, the development of the Redeemer's University Primary Dysmenorrhea Screening Tool (RUN-PDST) involved a standardized methodology comprising two broad phases: (a) development and refinement of screening tool items and (b) establishment of psychometric properties. Results: The observed Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure was .86, and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity (BTS) was (X2=3518.512, df=703, P = .000). The test of the principal components indicated nine extracted components, and the analysis of the components revealed all items that loaded based on the presence of nine components exceeding an eigenvalue of 1. Of the 38 items loaded, 24 were found to be significant and were subjected to principal component analysis using Varimax. The results from the component analysis further reduced the screening tool to 19 items. The item-total statistics of the tool indicate that all items have very good discrimination ability and should be retained. The internal consistency of the RUN-PDST among Nigerian samples revealed that the screening tool is reliable. Furthermore, paired with The Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ), RUN-PDST has good concurrent validity. Conclusion: RUN-PDST is a reliable and valid screening tool for assessing and managing primary dysmenorrhea symptoms. Abbreviations: RUN-PDST – Redeemer’s University Primary Dysmenorrhea Screening Tool; PCA - Principal Component Analysis; BTS - Bartlett's Test of Sphericity; KMO - Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin; MSQ - Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire Keywords: Development, validation, primary dysmenorrhea, screening tool. Citation: Bello IB, Akinnawo EO, Akpunne BC. Development and validation of Redeemer's University Primary Dysmenorrhea Screening Tool (RUN-PDST). Anaesth. pain intensive care 2024;28(6):1113-1121; DOI; 10.35975/apic.v28i6.2619 Received: October 12, 2021; Reviewed: October 18, 2021; Accepted: November 13, 2024