TITLE:
The Development and Validation of a Questionnaire Measuring Barriers to Career Progression Faced by Women Dentists in Saudi Arabia
AUTHORS:
Mona Rajeh, Belinda Nicolua, Akram Qutob, Pierre Pluye, Shahrokh Esfandiari
KEYWORDS:
Dentistry, Female, Middle East, Validation Study
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.6 No.3,
March
19,
2018
ABSTRACT: To develop and validate a questionnaire assessing barriers faced by Saudi Arabian female dentists in the progression of their career. We developed a three-part questionnaire based on a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and consultation with 3 panels of experts. The instrument was sent to a convenience sample of 150 female dentists who were faculty members at different university hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test reliability. Exploratory factor analysis was used to evaluate construct validity. A total of 62 dentists returned the questionnaire (response rate 41.3%), 55 of which were useable for the pilot testing of the measure. The final instrument included 20 items divided into four subscales: Family Challenges, Environment Challenges, Interpersonal Challenges, and Sociocultural Challenges. Cronbach’s α for the total questionnaire was 0.899. Exploratory factor analysis on the questionnaire led to a set of subscales differing from those defined beforehand (KMO = 0.784 very good). A new valid and reliable questionnaire has been developed that measures barriers to female dentists’ career progression in Saudi Arabia.