Publication Date
2017
Publication Details
Wagenaar, K. P, Broekhuizen, B. D, Rutten, F. H, Stromberg, A., van Stel, H. F, Hoes, A. W & Jaarsma, T. (2017). Interpretability of the European heart failure self-care behaviour scale. Patient Preference and Adherence,11J. Chen. 1841-1849. New Zealand: Dove Medical Press Ltd. (Dovepress). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S144915
Abstract
Objective: The European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour scale (EHFScBs) is a valid patient-reported questionnaire to measure self-care behavior of heart failure (HF) patients. We assessed the interpretability of the EHFScBs. Methods: We used data of 1,023 HF patients. Interpretability refers to the clinical meaning of the score and its changes over time. We operationalized interpretability by evaluating distribu¬tions of EHFScBs scores across relevant HF subgroups by eyeballing, by testing the risk on hospitalizations and mortality of a plausible threshold, and by determining a clinically relevant minimal important change (MIC). The scale score ranged from 0 to 100, with a higher score meaning better self-care. A threshold of $70 was defined as adequate and ,70 as inadequate self-care. Results: The EHFScBs scores were similarly normally distributed among the subgroups with a mean between 57.8 (SD 19.4) and 72.0 (SD 18.0). The 464 HF patients with adequate self-care had significantly less all-cause hospitalizations than the 559 patients with inadequate self-care. Conclusion: The degree of self-care showed to be independent of relevant HF subgroups. A single threshold of 70 accurately discriminated between patients with adequate and inad¬equate self-care. Practice implications: The threshold of 70 can be used in designing studies and informing health policy makers.
School/Institute
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research
Document Type
Open Access Journal Article
Access Rights
Open Access