The purpose of this study is to report on the validation process of a questionnaire that explores health science students’ attitudes towards women’s childbirth experiences. This questionnaire can help inform education programs to enhance the quality of woman-professional interactions, and to improve women’s experiences of childbirth. A standardized procedure for the development and validation of the questionnaire included: item development and psychometric pre-validation, Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient calculation, test–retest and item-total correlation for the reliability analysis. Content validity was undertaken by Delphi method with sixteen panelists over two rounds. We determined the factor structure and refined and validated the questionnaire according to the responses of a cohort of 560 students using principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation. Confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken. A 52-items questionnaire CAVE-st: (acronym for cuestionario de actitudes sobre vivencias y experiencias en el parto) was developed and validated. The results of the factor analysis finally revealed four latent dimensions. The questionnaire CAVE-st is a valid and reliable tool to assess health science students’ attitude towards women’s childbirth experiences. Further work to translate and adapt the instrument in other cultures and languages will be undertaken.

This study was carried out with the support of the COST Action – CA 18211: Perinatal Mental Health and Birth-Related Trauma: Maximising best practice and optimal outcomes. We appreciate the work of the expert group that participated in the Delphi panel,

CAVE-st,Childbirth,Perinatal education,Questionnaire development,Students’attitude

• Psychology - Social Sciences

This publication is an output of the following project(s):

• Candidates Survey (MPs and non-elected candidates) for the 2019 Legislative Elections
• Candidates Survey (MPs and non-elected candidates) for the 2022 Legislative Elections