Development and initial validation of a heart disease knowledge questionnaire for people with rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and validate two parallel versions of the Heart Disease Fact Questionnaire-Rheumatoid Arthritis (HDFQ-RA), a modified and RA-specific version of the HDFQ.


METHODS
The questionnaire was composed of generic questions from the original HDFQ with additional RA-specific questions added. Cognitive interviewing was performed and the questionnaire piloted to generate two parallel questionnaires. For psychometric validation, 130 patients with RA completed the questionnaires at baseline and 2 weeks later.


RESULTS
Parallel form reliability of both questionnaires was established; the median score for both questionnaires was 9/13 with no statistical difference in scores. Kuder-Richardson-20 formula was 0.65 and 0.67 for both questionnaires. Test-retest stability showed constant median scores of 9/13 and no statistical difference in scores between baseline and follow-up. Known groups comparison revealed that patients who had self-educated themselves about heart disease, or who were taking CVD medications, had significantly higher scores on the questionnaires.


CONCLUSIONS
The two parallel forms of the HDFQ-RA have been shown to be equivalent measures of CVD knowledge and evidence supporting their reliability and validity is presented.


CONCLUSIONS
The HDFQ-RA is an appropriate tool for application in clinical and research settings, e.g., assessing novel educational interventions or tracking participants' progress on an education course.
John
Holly
H
Department of Rheumatology, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, UK. Holly.John@dgoh.nhs.uk
Treharne
Gareth J
GJ
Hale
Elizabeth D
ED
Panoulas
Vasileios F
VF
Carroll
Douglas
D
Kitas
George D
GD
D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires