Co-Development and Content Validity of an Instrument to Collect Integratively the Social Determinants of Health in Postpartum Lactating People

Paula Eugenia Barral, Agustín Ramiro Miranda and Elio Andrés Soria ()
Additional contact information
Paula Eugenia Barral: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud (INICSA), Bv. de la Reforma, Ciudad Universitaria, Córdoba 5000, Argentina
Agustín Ramiro Miranda: MoISA, University Montpellier, CIRAD, CIHEAM-IAMM, INRAE, Institut Agro, IRD, 911 Avenue d’Agropolis, Cedex 5, 34394 Montpellier, France
Elio Andrés Soria: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud (INICSA), Bv. de la Reforma, Ciudad Universitaria, Córdoba 5000, Argentina

World, 2025, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Postpartum lactating people are particularly vulnerable to inequities in social determinants of health (SDH), yet no validated tool currently exists to assess these factors comprehensively. This study aimed to co-develop and establish the content validity of an instrument to integratively evaluate SDH in this population. Guided by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, an interdisciplinary e-Delphi panel assessed item sufficiency, clarity, coherence, and relevance. Statistical analyses included the item-level (I-CVI) and scale-level (S-CVI/Ave) content validity indices, average agreement between experts (AABE), Fleiss’ kappa (κ), and Aiken’s V coefficient (V) ( p < 0.05). Cognitive interviews were conducted with postpartum lactating participants representing diverse characteristics to assess interpretability. The initial version of the instrument included 135 items across nine sections addressing general demographics, education, employment, home environment, lifestyle, social support, healthcare access, stress, intimate partner violence, insomnia, and nutrition. Based on expert input, it was refined to 131 items through structural and lexical revisions. Content validity indices indicated strong agreement: I-CVI ranged from 0.66–1.00, S-CVI/Ave > 0.95, AABE > 14.26, and κ and V > 0.90. Final adjustments following cognitive interviews led to a 128-item version optimized for clarity and relevance. This instrument offers strong content validity for SDH assessment in postpartum lactating people and supports sustainable use in health research.

Keywords: breast feeding; postpartum period; home environment; nutrition assessment; life style; public health practice; social disparities in health; women’s health; mental health; gender equity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/6/3/120/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/6/3/120/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jworld:v:6:y:2025:i:3:p:120-:d:1739040

Access Statistics for this article

World is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Hu

More articles in World from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().