Psychometric validation of the living with chronic illness scale in patients with chronic heart failure

Abstract

It is necessary to develop self-reported instruments that evaluate the process of living with chronic heart failure (HF) holistically. The Living with Chronic Illness Scale—HF (LW-CI-HF) is the only available tool to evaluate how patients are living with HF. The aim is to analyse the psychometric properties of the LW-CI scale in the HF population. An international, cross-sectional validation study was carried out in 603 patients living with HF from Spain and Colombia. The variables measured were living with HF, perceived social support, satisfaction with life, quality of life and global impression of severity. The LW-CI-HF scale presented good data quality and acceptability. All domains showed high internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ≥ 0.7. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the total score was satisfactory (0.9) in test–retest reliability. The LW-CI-HF correlated 0.7 with social support and quality of life measures. Standard error of measurement was 6.5 for total scale. The LW-CI-HF scale is feasible, reliable and valid. However, results should be taken with caution in order to be used in clinical practice to evaluate the complex process of living with HF. Further research is proposed.