Table 1.
Measures1 Operational Definitions and Reliability & Validity noted
| Measures | Operational Definition (Collected 6 and 12 months post-intervention) | Reliabilitya,b,c Validityd,e,f |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) 70 | HF-related quality of life, symptom frequency & severity, sense of discouragement relative to having HF. | 23-item Likert.a,c,d,e α = 0.90.a |
| The European Heart Failure Self Care Behavior Scale71,72 | HF self-care skills practiced daily (maintaining their daily medications, fluid and sodium restrictions, monitoring HF symptoms Information about HF home management |
9-item Likerta α=.81 |
| HF Knowledge Questionnaire.73 | HF knowledge (i.e., What is the sodium intake per day for HF patients?) | 8 multiple choice items, KR21 = 0.70 |
| Patients’ HF rehospitalizations. Each occurrence was classified as HF-related hospitalization or not. | Adjudicated by MDs blinded to group by using an a priori determined adjudication definition of HF (based on other NIH funded clinical trials)74 | 3-item Likerte,f |
| Group Appointment Helpfulness Evaluation Scale.75 | Participants were asked to anonymously rate their group clinic experience in helping them manage their HF. | 8-item Likertc,d,e α=.86 (1 = not helpful to 5 = very helpful) |
1
These measures have confirmed discriminant or construct validity, internal consistency and reliability, and established specificity from large populations of HF patients. These measures also have published scores/standard deviations that distinguish clinically significant differences and are verified to be sensitive to change over time.