Development and psychometric evaluation of a questionnaire addressing the psychosocial needs of oocyte recipient women

The social pressures of using a third party in infertility treatment impose a high psychosocial burden, particularly on women, increasing their psychosocial needs whose identification is imperative to provide comprehensive wellness programs in infertility treatment systems. Accordingly, the present study aimed to development and psychometric evaluation of a questionnaire addressing the psychosocial needs of oocyte recipient women. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a preliminary questionnaire was designed in the Persian language with 38 items on the Likert scale, and its face and content validity were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively using experts’ opinions and calculating the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI). Reliability was measured by calculating Cronbach’s alpha correlation coefficient and repeatability coefficient. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 180 women receiving oocyte to evaluate the instrument’s construct validity. Moreover, an exploratory factor analysis was performed using the Varimax rotation method. The psychometric evaluation of the questionnaire confirmed robust face and content validity, with a finalized pool of 26 items, a content validity ratio (CVR) exceeding 0.75, and a content validity index (CVI) above 0.80. Subsequent exploratory factor analysis revealed a clear four-factor structure namely, need to preserve married life, and legal principles, need for parenting, and the need for support collectively accounting for 55.512% of the total variance in the psychosocial needs of the target population. The instrument demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91, and strong test–retest reliability, evidenced by a repeatability coefficient of 0.84. The results showed that the psychosocial needs of oocyte recipients could be presented in four dimensions: preserving married life, observing moral and legal principles, the need for parenting, and the need for support. Moreover, the designed 26-item questionnaire enjoyed acceptable reliability and validity in measuring the psychosocial needs of oocyte recipients and can be used in planning mental health services for oocyte recipients.