Brokalaki, H.; Chatziefstratiou, A.A.; Fotos, N.V.; Patelarou, A.; Giakoumidakis, K. The Development and Testing of the Hippocratic Heart Failure Self-Care Scale. Healthcare2024, 12, 820.
Brokalaki, H.; Chatziefstratiou, A.A.; Fotos, N.V.; Patelarou, A.; Giakoumidakis, K. The Development and Testing of the Hippocratic Heart Failure Self-Care Scale. Healthcare 2024, 12, 820.
Brokalaki, H.; Chatziefstratiou, A.A.; Fotos, N.V.; Patelarou, A.; Giakoumidakis, K. The Development and Testing of the Hippocratic Heart Failure Self-Care Scale. Healthcare2024, 12, 820.
Brokalaki, H.; Chatziefstratiou, A.A.; Fotos, N.V.; Patelarou, A.; Giakoumidakis, K. The Development and Testing of the Hippocratic Heart Failure Self-Care Scale. Healthcare 2024, 12, 820.
Abstract
Background: The adoption of self-care behaviors among patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) is essential for the management of their health condition. However, there is a lack of tools for estimating self-care in CHF patients. We aim to develop and validate the Hippocratic heart failure self-care scale (HHFSCS). Methods: the scale includes 22 items which are reviewed by a committee of experts. Individuals indicate the frequency at which they follow each self-behavior on a five-point Likert scale. Adult patients with CHF (n=250) from a General Hospital, in Athens, were participated in the study from June 2020 to March 2021. Reliability coefficients and Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA), using a Varimax rotation and the Principal Components Method were used to assess the psychometric measurements. Results: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the HHFSCS was 0.807. The exploratory factor analysis identified two domains that accounted for 88.44% of the variance of the scale items; however, each sub-scale could not be used as an independent scale. Finally, the test-retest showed a significant strong correlation (r=0.973, p<0.001). Conclusions: The HHFSCS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing self-behaviors in CHF patients. Health professionals can use it in their clinical practice to improve the management of patient’s health conditions.
Keywords
self-care; self-management; heart failure; validation; scale development
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Primary Health Care
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.