Development and Validation of the OSA-CPAP Perceived Competence Evaluation Interview

Area of Science:

• Sleep Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a primary treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
• Assessing patient adherence to CPAP therapy is crucial for treatment success.
• Existing methods for adherence assessment may not be sufficiently brief or patient-centered.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a brief, patient-reported outcome measure for assessing CPAP adherence in OSA patients.
• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the new adherence questionnaire.
• To explore factors associated with CPAP adherence and OSA management.

Main Methods:

• A 12-item questionnaire was developed based on literature review and qualitative testing.
• The questionnaire was administered to a large sample of 1021 OSA patients in Catalonia.
• Statistical analyses were performed to assess reliability, internal structure, and associations with clinical variables.

Main Results:

• The final 12-item questionnaire demonstrated good reliability (CRI=.793) and adequate internal structure.
• Significant increases in patient knowledge of OSA and CPAP treatment were observed.
• Higher adherence scores correlated positively with quality of life, motivation, and CPAP use, and negatively with daytime sleepiness.

Conclusions:

• The developed questionnaire is a reliable tool for assessing CPAP adherence in OSA patients.
• This measure can help clinicians identify patients at risk of non-adherence.
• The findings support targeted interventions to improve CPAP adherence and patient outcomes.