Background and purpose: Preeclampsia, a common disorder of unknown origin, presents with signs and symptoms that can be subtle, making assessment and intervention challenging. The purpose of this study was to refine the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to assess a comprehensive range of preeclampsia symptoms.
Methods: Testing of the Preeclampsia Prenatal Symptom-Monitoring Scale (PPSMC) was accomplished through a retrospective, correlational, and comparative study of 100 postpartum women with preeclampsia and gestational hypertension.
Results: The initial 17-item Cronbach's alpha was .73; reliability of the current 11-item PPSMC increased to .77. Content validity index for the PPSMC (17 items) was .88; for the PPSMC (11 items), .93. Exploratory factor analysis, known group comparisons, and predictive validity lend beginning support of the instrument's construct validity.
Conclusion: This instrument may be useful in examining in greater detail the symptomatology of women with preeclampsia in practice and research settings.