The reliability of a breastfeeding questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Maternal and Child Health
• Survey Methodology

Background:

• Breastfeeding initiation and duration are critical public health outcomes.
• Identifying women at risk of premature weaning requires reliable assessment tools.
• Existing breastfeeding support services need effective evaluation methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the reliability of a newly developed breastfeeding questionnaire.
• To evaluate the questionnaire's effectiveness in assessing breastfeeding support services.
• To identify at-risk populations for premature weaning.

Main Methods:

• A seven-step development plan was followed for questionnaire construction.
• Test-retest reliability was assessed on 21 mothers with children aged 1-3 years.
• Statistical analyses included kappa for nominal data and Pearson's r for ordinal/ratio data.

Main Results:

• The study provides preliminary evidence for the questionnaire's reliability.
• The developed tool is suggested to be effective and efficient for data collection.
• Reliability metrics indicate the questionnaire's potential for accurate assessment.

Conclusions:

• The breastfeeding questionnaire demonstrates acceptable reliability for research use.
• This tool can aid in evaluating breastfeeding support interventions.
• Further validation in diverse populations is warranted.