Development of an adverse-event coping scale (AECS) using item response theory

Area of Science:

• Pharmacovigilance
• Health Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Adverse drug events (ADEs) contribute significantly to patient morbidity and mortality.
• Patient coping strategies for ADEs are crucial for timely interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Adverse Event Coping Scale (AECS).
• To measure patients' coping responses to their adverse drug events.

Main Methods:

• Item response theory (IRT) for item calibration and reliability assessment.
• Confirmatory factor analysis to establish scale structure.
• Convergent validity assessed through correlations with related scales.

Main Results:

• A reliable 11-item, one-dimensional AECS was developed (reliability coefficient = 0.82).
• AECS scores positively correlated with ADE seriousness and health literacy.
• Scores reflect problem magnitude and coping effort, not solely coping efficacy.

Conclusions:

• The AECS quantifies patient coping efforts in response to serious ADEs.
• The AECS and its short-form aid clinicians in understanding patient ADE coping mechanisms.