Development of a Pelvic Organ Prolapse Misconceptions Scale for Hispanic Women

Misconceptions about pelvic organ prolapse occur among Hispanic women. We develop and validate a novel scale measuring misconceptions about pelvic organ prolapse (POP) among Hispanic women.

A cross-sectional survey of 406 Hispanic women was conducted. Participants completed 11 items about POP misconceptions, the Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ-POP), and the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (SASH). Principal component analysis was used.

The Pelvic Organ Prolapse Misconceptions Scale (POPMS) had two subscales: personal habits and sequelae (PHS) and treatment approaches (TA), with high internal reliability (KR-20 = 0.90 and 0.81, respectively). The POPMS PHS and TA subscales were each positively correlated (both r = 0.25, p < 0.001) with general POP knowledge of the PIKQ-POP. College-educated women had higher mean scores on the PHS (p < 0.001) and TA (p = 0.01) than those not college educated. The correlations and mean scores indicate acceptable criterion validity. Misconceptions were common: 44% answered all PHS items incorrectly, and 56% answered all TA items incorrectly. The PIKQ-POP was positively associated with three SASH acculturation subscales (all p < 0.001). The POPMS was not associated with any of the three SASH acculturation subscales.

In conclusion, the POPMS is a valid and reliable instrument to measure misconceptions about POP in Hispanic women. Importantly, while general POP knowledge correlates with acculturation, misconceptions do not. This shows that misinformation may persist even in more acculturated individuals. We recommend that clinicians consider administering the POPMS scale to their Hispanic patients. This will allow clinicians to better understand their patients' misconceptions about POP.