The development and psychometric evaluation of a self-efficacy scale for practicing pelvic floor exercises

Abstract

Background: Self-efficacy has been shown to be a predictor of many health-related behaviors, including the practice of pelvic floor exercises with a focus on prevention or cure. Objectives: To describe the process of construction and the psychometric properties of the scale of self-efficacy for the practice of pelvic floor exercises (EAPEAP). Method: A cross-sectional study of validation was carried out with 81 from community and 96 postpartum women, 54.8% of them complained of urinary leakage. An exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency analysis was performed. To check predictive capacity, we analyzed the adherence at 3 months post-intervention and compared the scores of self-efficacy between adherent and non-adherent women. Reliability was analyzed by split half procedure. Results: The instrument showed α=0.923, and revealed three factors: performance expectation considering the action, performance expectation considering the preparation for action and outcome expectations. These factors accounted for 65.32% of the total variance. The instrument was able to differentiate between women who adhere and have not adhered to the exercises (U=352, p=0.013) and there was strong correlation between the two halves of the instrument (rho=0.889, p<0.001). Conclusion: The scale is a valid and reliable tool to measure self-efficacy to practice pelvic floor exercises.