Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Cardiovascular Health Behavior Scale for Children

Development and psychometric analysis of care needs scale for mothers of children with congenital heart disease

PURPOSE

This cross-sectional study aimed to create and evaluate a care needs scale for mothers of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) to determine its psychometric properties.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This methodological research was conducted with 155 mothers whose children were diagnosed with CHD and were treated at a university hospital. The study's methodology included scale development, specialist opinions, and a pilot test. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and reliability assessments.

RESULTS

The 11-item scale was created using component analysis, expert comments, and pilot testing. It was divided into two categories: Information Needs Regarding Disease and Treatment and Needs Regarding Care. The Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a 2-factor structure, explaining 41.5% of the variance. Reliability analysis showed reliable dimensions, and Tukey's scalability test indicated the scale requires separate dimension evaluation. The model fit indices were obtained as CMIN/DF (72.751/41) = 1.774, GFI = 0.925, IFI = 0.923, TLI = 0.893, CFI = 0.920, RMSEA = 0.071, SRMR = 0.063. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for subdimension 1 was 0.758, and for subdimension 2 was 0.678, indicating reliable dimensions.

CONCLUSION

The developed scale provides a valuable tool for assessing the care needs of mothers of children with CHD, contributing to enhancing maternal support programs in pediatric cardiology clinics.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Assessment of the care needs of mothers who have children with CHD is promising for the development of educational programs on this subject and to ensure the competence of mothers for care.

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the parental competence scale for parents of children with autism

BACKGROUND

Parental competence is an important concept in increasing the quality of care provided to individuals with special needs and the quality of life of parents. This study was aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Parental Competence Scale designed for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders.

METHOD

This methodological study was conducted with 433 parents of children with autism between November 2021 and February 2023. Information Form, the Parental Competence Scale for Parents of Children with Autism, and the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale were used to collect the data. The data were assessed using content and construct validity, item analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and internal consistency. Guidelines for reporting reliability and agreement studies (GRRAS) were adhered to in the study.

FINDINGS

The content validity index of the scale was 0.93. Item-total score correlation values ranged from 0.338 to 0.846. As a result of confirmatory factor analysis, the two-factor structure of the scale consisting of 19 items was confirmed. Factor loads were >0.30 and fit indices were >0.80. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the Turkish version of the scale was 0.85, and the Cronbach's alpha values of its sub-dimensions were 0.71 and 0.79.

CONCLUSION

The parental competence scale for parents of children with autism is a valid and reliable measurement tool for Turkey.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Pediatric nurses, all health professionals, special education professionals and teachers can use this scale in interventional studies aiming to evaluate or improve the competencies of parents with autistic children in the future.

The relationship between the nutritional literacy level and heart health attitudes of adolescents

PURPOSE

It was aimed to evaluate the effect of adolescents' nutritional literacy level on their heart health attitudes.

METHODS

This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Data from 416 adolescents were obtained in the study. The Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS) and the Cardiovascular Health Behavior Scale for Children (CHBSC) were completed by participants. The adolescents' demographic information, lifestyle, and diet habits were collected. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression.

RESULTS

The participants' mean scores of the ANLS and the CHBSC were as 68.30 ± 8.68 and 67.55 ± 8.45, respectively. It was determined that 88.7% of the adolescents had moderate attitudes towards heart health and that there was a weak and negative correlation between the ANLS and CHBSC scores (r = -0,207; p < 0.001). It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in ANLS and CHBSC scores in terms of gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), fast food consumption frequency, what they primarily pay attention to in food, weekly exercise frequency, the amount of daily water consumption, general health status and reading the label of packaged products (p < 0.05). It was determined that exercising, general state of health, BMI, consumption of fast food, and reading the label of packaged products were key predictors of CHBSC scores. Additionally, exercising, consumption of fast food, and reading the label of packaged products were identified as key predictors of ANLS scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis suggests that higher levels of nutritional literacy are related to more positive attitudes towards heart health in adolescents. Additionally, our analysis identifies key predictors of both nutrition literacy and heart health behaviors.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

School health nurses should consider the variables influencing these parameters to improve attitudes towards nutritional literacy and heart health in adolescents.

Effects of digital game addiction on cardiovascular health behavior on secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate factors affecting digital game addiction in secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of digital game addiction on cardiovascular health behavior.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted with 619 secondary school students aged 10-14 years. Study data were analyzed using World Health Organization AnthroPlus and SPSS programs. Simple linear regression and multiple linear regression methods were used in the analysis process.

RESULTS

Findings showed that 43.6% of the students played digital games for more than two hours a day. Descriptive characteristics (gender, age, basal metabolic rate, educational status of parent, income status, etc.) and digital gaming habits of the students accounted for 37.0% of the variance in digital game addiction. Digital game addiction adversely affected cardiovascular health behavior and all its sub-dimensions.

CONCLUSION

The first factor that predicted digital game addiction, in order of significance, was daily digital game playing time. Digital game addiction negatively affected the sedentary lifestyle sub-dimension of cardiovascular health behavior most. Digital game addiction may trigger an increase in the incidence of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and especially cardiovascular diseases, at later ages.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Nurses, schools, and parents have critical responsibilities in preventing digital game addiction. Results of this research will make a remarkable contribution to the development of preventive services by revealing risk factors for digital game addiction and the effects of digital game addiction on cardiovascular health behavior.