Development of the Women’s Health Empowerment Scale (WHES) for Thai female factory workers

• Main Authors: J Thassri, A Chaowalit, U Boonyasopun, L Bullock
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Prince of Songkla University 2006-01-01
• Series: Journal of Health Science and Medical Research (JHSMR)
• Subjects: women health empowerment scale (whes); female factory workers
• Online Access: https://www.jhsmr.org/index.php/jhsmr/article/view/553

Objective: To develop an instrument for assessing empowerment related to women's health regarding Thai female factory workers. Material and Methods: Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in combination with literature reviews to develop the items on a women’s health empowerment scale (WHES). The subjects were 1,384 women who were working in manufacturing factories in southern Thailand at the time of the study. Results: Using exploratory factor analysis with the entire sample and by splitting the whole group into two sub-samples, the resulting four factors of the WHES included: (1) Assurance to control action of personal well-being (20 items), (2) The ability to influence reciprocal community support in solving health problems (15 items), (3) Actions to achieve visions and goals of health (9 items), and (4) Increasing a sense of self-awareness to become and remain healthy (15 items). There were significant correlations between the demographic variables (age, personal income, educational level, type of family, and caregivers) and the WHES. To achieve consistency in measurement, the WHES was tested for reliability. Cronbach's coefficient alpha of the four factors and the total scale ranged from 0.81-0.96 indicating a highly reliable internal consistency, and testretest reliability showed significant correlation (r = 0.72, p < .001). Conclusion: The WHES is a reliable and valid measure for assessing empowerment related to women's health in Thai female factory workers and other similar factory contexts such as factories operating in the agricultural and mineral industries.