Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Female Substance Abusers’ Reproductive Health Scale: Study Protocol for a Sequential Exploratory Mixed-method Study

Abstract

Aims: This study aims at the development and psychometric evaluation of the Female Substance Abusers’ Reproductive Health Scale (FSARHS). Design, Setting and Participants: This is the protocol of a sequential exploratory mixed-method study. The study will be conducted in an FSARHS development phase and an FSARHS psychometric evaluation phase. In the first phase, a qualitative study and a literature review will be conducted for item generation. In the qualitative study, semi-structured interviews will be held with female substance abusers. Data will be analyzed through conventional content analysis and the draft of FSARHS will be developed. In the psychometric evaluation phase, the face, content, and construct validity and reliability of FSARHS will be assessed. Conclusions: FSARHS can be used by reproductive health policy makers and health care providers at national and international levels in order to assess reproductive health among female substance abusers.