gms | German Medical Science

6th International Conference of the German Society of Midwifery Science (DGHWi)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hebammenwissenschaft e. V.

28.07. - 29.07.2022, Winterthur, Schweiz

Construction and validation of a questionnaire on the job satisfaction of midwives

Meeting Abstract

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  • corresponding author Joana Streffing - Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Gesundheits- und Pflegewissenschaft, Halle (Saale), Deutschland
  • Gertrud M. Ayerle - Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Gesundheits- und Pflegewissenschaft, Halle (Saale), Deutschland

German Association of Midwifery Science. 6th International Conference of the German Association of Midwifery Science (DGHWi). Winterthur, Schweiz, 28.-29.07.2022. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2022. Doc22dghwiV10

doi: 10.3205/22dghwi11, urn:nbn:de:0183-22dghwi119

This is the English version of the article.
The German version can be found at: http://www.egms.de/de/meetings/dghwi2022/22dghwi11.shtml

Published: July 28, 2022

© 2022 Streffing et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Outline

Text

Background: Midwives appreciate the recognition of women they care for and the responsibility they assume as an important satisfaction factor in the workplace. Midwives who do not have the option of individual care for the labouring women think more often about changing employers. The job satisfaction is of particular interest in the Be-Up study at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, the possible influence of an alternative design of the delivery room on birth outcomes are surveyed in this study. Not only mother and child but also employed midwives can benefit from the free design of the delivery room. However, there is currently no valid german questionnaire to measure the job satisfaction, autonomy, and empowerment of midwives with regard to the design of the workspace.

Aim: The aim of the doctoral thesis at the Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg is the construction and validation of a questionnaire on job satisfaction and room design for employed midwives (ARaH).

Methods: Based on a scoping review and exploratory expert interviews, items on job satisfaction and room design were generated. There were 54 test items from the areas of general conditions, team, job satisfaction, autonomy and development, health, interior design, and demographic data. The Warr-Cook-Wall scale was used as a comparison questionnaire. The items were then assessed by a committee of experts for the logical validity and selection of the most relevant items. In the last step, employed midwives were surveyed by an online survey in February 2021. All midwives who are currently working in a delivery room (employed or freelance) were included.

Results: The final questionnaire on job satisfaction and room design among employed midwives includes 32 items. Part one “Job satisfaction” consists of the three main components “job satisfaction”, “team (midwives & doctors)” and “autonomy and development” (23 items; Cronbach’s 0.91); Part two “interior design” which comprises nine items, showed a Cronbachs of 0.92.

Conclusion: The questionnaire “work satisfaction and room design among employed midwives” (ARaH) can be used in the analysis of the work situation of employed midwives in the delivery room. Furthermore, further testing of the questionnaire on a representative sample is planned to achieve improved general validity.

Ethics and conflicts of interest: A vote on ethics was obtained. The research was financed by own resources. There are no conflicts of interest.