Validation of the Mother-Generated Index in Iran: A Specific Postnatal Quality-of-Life Instrument.
BACKGROUND
The mother-generated index (MGI) is one of only a few existing specific questionnaires for assessing the postnatal quality of life (QoL). MGI is a single-form questionnaire that asks postnatal mothers to specify up to eight areas of their lives which have been affected by giving birth to a baby. Using this tool, it is possible to score and rank the QoL of mothers. This study aimed to validate the questionnaire for use in Iran.


METHODS
Forward translation was used to translate the questionnaire from English to Farsi (Persian). The questionnaire was then administered to a sample of postnatal women attending two teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Face validity and criterion validity were performed to establish the validity for the Iranian version of the MGI. Face validity was assessed by asking women to indicate whether they understood the wording of the questions, how easy the questionnaire was, and so on. Criterion validity was examined using the Short Form 36-item (SF-36) Health Survey. It was hypothesized that the MGI would significantly correlate with the SF-36.


RESULTS
In all, 124 women were approached. Of these, 119 women were eligible and 96 women agreed to take part in the study. Face validity was good and all of the women found the MGI straightforward to complete; as criterion validity, the MGI scores and the subscales of the SF-36 were moderately correlated (for all subscales: Pearson r > 0.4; P < 0.001). The mean MGI primary score was 5.38 (SD = 3.05). Women who had comorbidity had significantly lower MGI scores than women without comorbidity (P = 0.04). Correlation between aggregate of comments and primary score was high (r = 0.68, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
In general, the Iranian version of the MGI performed well and our data suggest that it is a valid measure to assess health-related QoL among postnatal women.
Department of Observatory on Health and Health System, National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Roghayeh
R
Khabiri
Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Arash
A
Rashidian
Mental Health Group, Health Metrics Research Center, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Ali
A
Montazeri
Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing & Midwifery,University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Andrew
A
Symon
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abbas Rahimi
AR
Foroushani
Department of Observatory on Health and Health System, National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad
M
Arab
Department of Gynecology-Obstetrics, Vali-e-Asr Reproductive Health Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Batoul Hosein
BH
Rashidi
Mother-Generated Index; postnatal; quality of life; validity