Neglect of self-care in patients with heart failure: Instrument Development and Psychometric Properties

Background Patients with heart failure often neglect self-care, including diet, medication, daily activities, exercise, and stress management. The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable measure for the neglect of self-care in patients with heart failure. Methods The study was methodological research. A three-stage mixed methods study was conducted: (a) in-depth interviews with patients with heart failure were analyzed to extract key themes; (b) these themes, combined with a literature review, informed the development of a 55-item preliminary instrument; and (c) the instrument's content, face, and construct validity were assessed using content validity ratio, content validity index, and exploratory factor analysis. Results Subscales in the final instrument Drug negligence", "Nutritional negligence", "Sexual negligence", "Environmental negligence", "Physical activity negligence", "Informational-communicational negligence” and “Negligence in prioritizing self-care”. Reliability of the instrument was .92. Conclusions The final 35-item “neglect of self-care in patients with heart failure “demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Clinical trial number: Not applicable