Measuring patient acceptance of implantable cardiac device therapy: initial psychometric investigation of the Florida Patient Acceptance Survey.
BACKGROUND
Patient acceptance of implantable device therapy has been established as an important outcome but the operationalization and validation of a measure of patient acceptance of implantable device therapy has not been fully completed. This study sought to validate a new measure of patient acceptance of cardiac implantable devices called the Florida Patient Acceptance Survey (FPAS).


METHODS
The sample consisted of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD; n = 58), and implantable atrioverter defibrillator (ICD-AT; n = 96), and pacemaker (PM, n = 84) patients. Mean age of all participants was 69 years; they were mostly male (62%) and married (75%). The final FPAS comprised 15 items with four consistent factors: Return to Function, Device-Related Distress, Positive Appraisal, and Body Image Concerns.


RESULTS
The total FPAS demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83), and internal consistency for each of the subscales ranged from 0.74 to 0.89. The FPAS demonstrated convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity when compared to other self-report measures of QOL, atrial symptoms, depression, and anxiety. A total FPAS score can be formed and between group comparisons with this sample indicated that ICD patients report a high level of acceptance (mean = 76), ICD-AT patients report a significantly higher level of acceptance (mean = 81.1), and PM patients reported the highest level of patient acceptance (mean = 85.4) of these implantable device groups.


CONCLUSIONS
This initial psychometric investigation of the FPAS suggests that the FPAS may be useful in both clinical and research settings to assess patient acceptance of implantable cardiac devices.
Burns
Jason L
JL
Department of Clinical Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA.
Serber
Eva R
ER
Keim
Stephen
S
Sears
Samuel F
SF
D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000523:psychology; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000523:psychology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life