The episiotomy self-efficacy scale: a scale development study

Area of Science:

• Midwifery Education
• Healthcare Professional Training
• Skill Assessment

Background:

• Self-efficacy is crucial for professional competence, mediating between knowledge and behavior.
• Episiotomy skills are fundamental for midwives, necessitating robust self-efficacy development.
• Enhancing self-efficacy in episiotomy is vital for midwifery student training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a measurement tool for assessing midwifery students' self-efficacy in episiotomy application.
• The scale aims to evaluate cognitive, affective, motivational, and psychomotor aspects of episiotomy self-efficacy.
• This tool is designed to support targeted educational interventions for midwives.

Main Methods:

• A methodological study involving second, third, and fourth-year midwifery students.
• Data collected using a sociodemographic form and a draft episiotomy self-efficacy scale.
• Statistical analyses included factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, item-total score correlations, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

Main Results:

• Second-level CFA confirmed a 17-item scale with four sub-dimensions.
• The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.955) and item reliability.
• Goodness-of-fit indices (RMSEA=0.079, CFI=0.961) indicated a well-fitting model.

Conclusions:

• The developed scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring episiotomy self-efficacy in midwifery students.
• The scale can differentiate between students with varying levels of self-efficacy and those who have completed episiotomy courses.
• Further validation in different linguistic contexts is recommended.