Validity and Reliability of the Italian Version of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale-Postpartum Mothers.

Objective

To translate, culturally adapt, and assess the reliability and validity of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale-Postpartum Mothers (ObRHDS) to the Italian context.

Design

Validation study with a cross-sectional design.

Setting

Obstetric unit of a 1,000-bed tertiary hospital in north-eastern Italy.

Participants

Women who gave birth and were scheduled for discharge on the second or third day after birth (N = 220).

Methods

We used a paper-based questionnaire to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, clinical information, and the ObRHDS from July to September 2025. We translated the ObRHDS using the forward-backward translation method and culturally adapted it through review by an expert panel. We conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Rasch analysis and assessed internal consistency using Cronbach's α.

Results

We identified four factors of the Italian version of ObRHDS through EFA: Knowledge and Coping Ability, Personal Status, ExpectedSupport, and Barriers to Discharge, with Cronbach's reliability coefficients of .93, .88, 1.00, and .41, respectively. The results of the Rasch analysis and CFA indicated that the first three factors were robust. We removed Factor 4 because of poor psychometric performance, including unstable and nonsignificant loadings, negligible correlation with other factors, and low reliability.

Conclusion

The Italian version of ObRHDS is a valid tool for assessing discharge readiness during the postpartum period that shows good clarity and internal consistency across key factors. The Barriers to Discharge factor requires further refinement. Our findings support the scale's preliminary use, paving the way for international comparative research.