Developing and Validating of the Family Coping Scale for Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Psychology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Family coping is crucial for managing chronic heart failure (CHF) and impacts patient and family well-being.
• Understanding current family coping strategies in CHF patients is vital for developing effective interventions.
• A validated tool is needed to assess family coping specifically for patients with chronic heart failure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a reliable and accurate scale for assessing family coping in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).
• To provide a psychometrically sound instrument for evaluating family coping mechanisms in the context of CHF.

Main Methods:

• Scale development involved semi-structured interviews, expert consensus, and item analysis.
• Classical test theory and exploratory factor analysis were used for item refinement.
• Confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, and split-half reliability were employed for validation.

Main Results:

• The Family Coping Scale for Chronic Heart Failure (FCS-CHF) comprises 24 items across six dimensions.
• Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed good construct validity and acceptable model fit.
• The FCS-CHF demonstrated strong reliability and validity, meeting psychometric standards.

Conclusions:

• The FCS-CHF is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring family coping in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).
• This scale can inform the development of targeted family coping enhancement strategies for CHF patients.
• The validated FCS-CHF supports improved family-centered care in chronic heart failure management.