Measurement Model of Women’s Preferences in Obstetrician and Gynecologist Selection in the Private Sector: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Abstract

<strong>Background: </strong>The purpose of this study is to construct and validate a measurement model of women's<br /> preferences in Obstetrician and Gynecologist (OB/GYN) selection in the private sector of non-clinical<br /> parameters.<br /> <strong>Methods: </strong>This methodological study included 462 respondents in OB/GYN's offices to a researchermade<br /> questionnaire. The patients visited 57 offices of OB/GYNs in the city of Mashhad in Iran and<br /> completed women's preferences in OB/GYN selection questionnaire over a 2-month period from<br /> January to February 2018. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted to verify the instrument's<br /> construct validity. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test whether the data fit our<br /> hypothesized model obtained from EFA model.<br /> <strong>Results: </strong>The first draft of the questionnaire was prepared with 118 items based on literature review.<br /> The outcome of content validity assessment was a 51-item questionnaire. Scale-Content Validity Index<br /> (S-CVI) turned out to be 0.80. The results of EFA yielded an instrument with 33 items in six domains,<br /> which explained 52.657% of the total variance of the questionnaire. With performing CFA, the 6-factor<br /> model with 29 items demonstrated a good fit with the data (CFI=0.952, CMIN/DF=1.613, RMSEA=0.036).<br /> Availability and Accessibility, Communicational Skills, Office Environment, Recommendation by<br /> Others, Special Services, and Cost and Insurance were found to define the women's preferences in OB/<br /> GYN selection in private sector, Iran.<br /> <strong>Conclusion: </strong>The developed measurement model considers the patient's preferences that influence decisionmaking<br /> process on OB/GYN selection. It can provide useful knowledge for OB/GYNs and policymakers<br /> to design appropriate and efficient marketing strategies according to the consumer preferences priority.