Table 2.
EC-17 item a means (sd), frequencies, component loadings and item-total correlation (n = 116)
| Scale/Item | Mean (sd) | Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Usually | Always | Component loadingb | Item-total correlation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC-17 total scores c: | 61.27 (16.88) | |||||||
| 1. I know who can help me judge the quality of the information I receive about my disease | 2.41 (1.00) | 9.5 | 44.8 | 26.7 | 14.7 | 4.3 | 0.69 | 0.65 |
| 2. I understand the information I receive about my disease | 2.85 (0.75) | 12.1 | 68.1 | 15.5 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.66 | 0.62 |
| 3. I know how to adapt general health information to my own situation | 2.47 (0.84) | 4.3 | 54.3 | 28.4 | 10.3 | 2.6 | 0.78 | 0.75 |
| 4. I can be clear about what is important in my life when I make decisions about my disease | 2.57 (0.85) | 8.6 | 52.6 | 27.6 | 9.5 | 1.7 | 0.74 | 0.69 |
| 5. I can weigh the pros and cons of a decision about my disease | 2.67 (0.68) | 6.9 | 57.8 | 31.9 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.68 | 0.63 |
| 6. I can set realistic goals about the management of my disease | 2.47 (0.80) | 3.4 | 52.6 | 33.6 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 0.67 | 0.62 |
| 7. I can express my concerns well to health care providers | 2.65 (0.98) | 16.4 | 48.3 | 22.4 | 9.5 | 3.4 | 0.77 | 0.74 |
| 8. I know how to ask good questions about my health and my disease | 2.36 (0.95) | 4.3 | 52.6 | 21.6 | 18.1 | 3.4 | 0.85 | 0.82 |
| 9. I have built an open and trusting relationship, based on mutual respect, with my health care providers | 2.80 (1.01) | 22.4 | 50.9 | 15.5 | 6.9 | 4.3 | 0.72 | 0.67 |
| 10. I am able to play the role I want to in my health care team | 2.52 (0.96) | 10.3 | 50.0 | 24.1 | 12.1 | 3.4 | 0.64 | 0.60 |
| 11. I know who to work with to meet my health needs | 2.46 (0.98) | 8.6 | 50.9 | 22.4 | 13.8 | 4.3 | 0.82 | 0.79 |
| 12. I can be assertive to get what I need to meet my health needs | 2.02 (1.09) | 6.9 | 32.8 | 26.7 | 25.9 | 8.6 | 0.73 | 0.69 |
| 13. I feel a sense of control over my disease | 2.22 (0.92) | 3.4 | 40.5 | 36.2 | 14.7 | 5.2 | 0.64 | 0.59 |
| 14. I feel confident in making decisions about my health | 2.45 (0.91) | 8.6 | 44.0 | 34.5 | 9.5 | 3.4 | 0.80 | 0.76 |
| 15. I can negotiate with others about what we need to do to manage my disease | 2.28 (0.93) | 2.6 | 46.6 | 32.8 | 12.1 | 6.0 | 0.78 | 0.74 |
| 16. I can negotiate with the health care system about what to do to manage my disease | 2.15 (1.02) | 5.2 | 39.7 | 25.0 | 25.0 | 5.2 | 0.80 | 0.76 |
| 17. I can organize my life to act on decisions about how to manage my disease | 2.33 (0.95) | 6.0 | 44.0 | 31.0 | 14.7 | 4.3 | 0.71 | 0.66 |
a EC-17 items use a five point scale, ranging from 0 to 4, were 0 is never and 4 is always.
b The two EC-17 components derived from principal component analysis had eigenvalues of 9.21 and 1.36.
c EC-17 total score is calculated by adding up the scores and converting to a scale from 0 to 100 where 100 is the best possible score.