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Published on: February 5, 2019
Psychometric validation of the infant feeding position scale
Wei-Hsuan Jen1, Yun-Fang Tsai2
1Department of Nursing, Yuanpei University of Medical Science and Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Background:
Infant feeding is a fundamental daily task and a critical parent-child interaction. Caregivers perform 6-12 feeds daily, often maintaining fixed, uncoordinated postures that can cause musculoskeletal strain, soreness, and injury.
Problem:
Although various feeding positions are widely practiced, currently no standardized tool evaluates the quality or suitability of a parent's physical posture. Without a validated self-assessment instrument, it is difficult for parents to identify suboptimal positioning, and healthcare providers lack a baseline for evidence-based postural guidance.
Aim:
To develop and psychometrically test a self-assessment scale for parental infant-feeding postures.
Methods:
The study involved three stages: (1) item generation via literature review; (2) content and face validity testing; and (3) a cross-sectional study (N = 225) to evaluate construct validity using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), internal consistency, and test-retest reliability.
Findings:
The 14-item scale (CVI = 1.00) comprises four components: proximity of the body to the infant during feeding, physical support aids used during feeding, head-neck-shoulder posture during feeding, and body presents with atypical postures during feeding. These explained 63.05% of the total variance. The scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (overall α = 0.80) and moderate test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.62, p < 0.001).
Discussion:
The developed scale demonstrated good construct validity, acceptable internal consistency, and moderate test-retest reliability.
Conclusion:
This scale allows clinicians and parents to monitor feeding posture quality, thereby facilitating early clinical evaluation and enhancing overall feeding quality.
