Translation and validation of the Italian version of the European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale.
BACKGROUND
Heart failure (HF) patients can benefit from management programmes that include education, discharge planning and structured follow-up. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the improvement of self-care as a result of these interventions. The European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale (EHFScBS) was developed as a reliable and valid instrument for self-care evaluation.


OBJECTIVE
The aims were to translate and validate the Italian version of the EHFScBS and to evaluate factors related to self-care.


METHODS
The translation and validation were performed as follows: translation and back-translation; evaluation by four bilingual cardiologists; administration to healthy individuals of different ages and education to test language comprehension; final correction by cardiologists experienced in cognitive assessment; and administration in HF patients to test validity and internal consistency.


RESULTS
A sample of 93 HF patients (mean age 77 +/- 6 years, 53% women) was considered for the validation procedure. Fifty-four (58%) patients were already followed in the HF clinic (HFC), with previous HF education, and 39 (42%) were evaluated at baseline. The reliability analysis showed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82. At multivariate analysis, age, not already followed in HFC and female sex were associated to worse self-care behaviour. When HFC patients were considered separately, an association between self-care and cognitive dysfunction was observed.


CONCLUSIONS
The EHFScBS appears to be a valid and reliable instrument in the Italian version also. Self-care behaviour appears to depend on age and sex and a previous HF education. Mild to moderately impaired cognitive function seems to influence self-care in patients who have already received HF education.
Pulignano
Giovanni
G
Heart Failure Clinic, Division of Cardiology and CCU, San Camillo Hospital, Rome, Italy. gipulig@yahoo.it
Del Sindaco
Donatella
D
Minardi
Giovanni
G
Tarantini
Luigi
L
Cioffi
Giovanni
G
Bernardi
Leda
L
Di Biagio
Daniele
D
Leonetti
Stefania
S
Giovannini
Ezio
E
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires