BackgroundThe lack of tools to measure heart failure patients' knowledge about their
syndrome when participating in rehabilitation programs demonstrates the need
for specific recommendations regarding the amount or content of information
required. ObjectivesTo develop and validate a questionnaire to assess heart failure patients'
knowledge about their syndrome when participating in cardiac rehabilitation
programs. MethodsThe tool was developed based on the Coronary Artery Disease Education
Questionnaire and applied to 96 patients with heart failure, with a mean age
of 60.22 ± 11.6 years, 64% being men. Reproducibility was obtained via the
intraclass correlation coefficient, using the test-retest method. Internal
consistency was assessed by use of Cronbach's alpha, and construct validity,
by use of exploratory factor analysis. ResultsThe final version of the tool had 19 questions arranged in ten areas of
importance for patient education. The proposed questionnaire had a clarity
index of 8.94 ± 0.83. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.856, and
Cronbach's alpha, 0.749. Factor analysis revealed five factors associated
with the knowledge areas. Comparing the final scores with the
characteristics of the population evidenced that low educational level and
low income are significantly associated with low levels of knowledge. ConclusionThe instrument has satisfactory clarity and validity indices, and can be used
to assess the heart failure patients' knowledge about their syndrome when
participating in cardiac rehabilitation programs.
Psychometric properties of questionnaires assessing HF patients' knowledge are poorly described in the literature. Although we identified the Atlanta HF Knowledge Test as the most promising instrument, it has methodological limitations. We recommend the researchers to use the questionnaire that best serves their research question and context.
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