Development and validation of maternal social capital assessment tool in northwest Ethiopia

To develop and validate a social capital assessment tool that considers the cultural and social realities of north-western Ethiopia.

A mixed-methods approach was applied through rigorous phases. Existing measurement approaches for social capital are reviewed. Additionally, a qualitative study was conducted for domain and item identification. The domains and their items were given to panel experts and rated for content validity. Cognitive interviews were conducted with mothers who gave birth in the previous year. For psychometric validation of the tool, 400 mothers who lived in South Gondar zone participated from January 2 to 27, 2023.

Five factors of structural social capital were extracted. These include group participation, emotional, social, financial, and informational support. The content validity index of the scale was 0.88, indicating that 88% of the experts rated the items of the scale as relevant. The loading of the items ranged from 0.505 to 0.858, exceeding the threshold of 0.50. For cognitive social capital, factor analysis grouped 43 items into four subscales: trust in social networks, trust in institutions, trust in the health care system, and social cohesion. The loadings of the items ranged from 0.507 to 0.913. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was excellent, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.901.

The Maternal Social Capital Assessment Tool is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring social capital during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The application of such a tool could allow us to decipher the influence of social capital on maternal health.