title: Development and initial psychometric properties of the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Symptom Scale (PAHSS).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to report the development and psychometric properties of the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Symptom Scale (PAHSS).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) experience multiple symptoms such as dyspnea, fatigue and chest pain, yet there is no comprehensive, validated symptom assessment tool to date.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study used a cross sectional design. Participants completed: socio-demographic and medical data form, the PAHSS, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 and the Profile of Mood States short form.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PAHSS contains 17 symptoms measured on a 0 to 10 scale. Principal components analysis demonstrated a three factor solution for the PAHSS: pulmonary, diffuse, and cardiac. Coefficient alphas were good. Statistically significant Pearson coefficients were found between the PAHSS and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 and the Profile of Mood States short form.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings show that the PAHSS is a promising scale to assess symptom severity.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4217 USA. Electronic address: matura@nursing.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Lea Ann
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Matura
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854 USA. Electronic address: Annette_McDonough@uml.edu.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McDonough
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4217 USA. Electronic address: alhanlon@nursing.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Alexandra L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hanlon
authors.affiliation: Munn Center for Nursing Research, Institute for Patient Care, Boston, MA 02114 USA. Electronic address: DCARROLL3@PARTNERS.ORG.
authors.forename: Diane L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Instrument development; Nursing; Pulmonary arterial hypertension; Symptoms