Background and objectives: The Women's Quality of Life Questionnaire (WOMQOL) was developed to measure aspects of the health of women of reproductive age with no known pathology.
Methods: Five experts in women's health and mental health rated a pool of 140 items as very significant, somewhat significant, or insignificant to women's health. Sixty-seven items were retained and formatted as a self-reported questionnaire with dichotomous responses to each statement ("true" and "false"). A total of 1,207 women completed the instrument during the follicular and late luteal phases of their menstrual cycles. Dichotomous response data from the follicular phases were analyzed using item response theory-based full-information item factor analysis to identify interpretable factors. Measurement invariance of the obtained factors across cycle phases and age cohorts was further evaluated using differential item functioning (DIF).
Results: Four primary factors, made up of the 10 items with highest factor loading in each factor, were found to measure physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. No items were found to display DIF across the phases of menstrual cycles or age cohorts.
Conclusion: Although additional studies of diverse groups of women are advised, the final 40-item WOMQOL is a psychometrically sound measure that can be used to evaluate the quality of life of women of reproductive age in the general population.