Development and Evaluation of the Psychosocial Adaptation Questionnaire among Patients with Chronic Skin Disease

Development and validation of the perceived symptom manageability scale among people living with the human immunodeficiency virus

BACKGROUND

"Perceived Symptom Manageability (PSM)" is essential in symptom management among people living with HIV. As a standardized assessment instrument was lacking, we developed a PSM scale for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PSM-HIV).

METHODS

Data analysis was performed using the sample from HIV-designated medical institutions (N = 540). Psychometric testing, namely reliability and validity, is assessed by unidimensionality, internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

The final version of the PSM- HIV scale contained 15 items. This scale was submitted to a principal components analysis with varimax rotation, and three factors were obtained, explained by a total variance of 63.10%. The three factors were named Cognitive-Behavioral, Affective Interaction, and Self-Attitude. The results show that the scale had high reliability, Cronbach's α of the scale ranged from 0.71 to 0.92, and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient was 0.88. The structural equation model supports a factor model with the acceptable fit (χ2/df (CMIN/DF) = 2.50, Root Mean square Residual (RMR) = 0.03, Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI) = 0.93, Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI) = 0.90, Normed Fit Index (NFI) = 0.93, Incremental Fit Index (IFI) = 0.96, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.96). The average variance extracted was 0.38 ∼ 0.59, and the composite reliability was 0.70 ∼ 0.91, indicating that the convergent validity of the scale is acceptable. Subjects with different stages of the disease reached significance(χ2 = 9.02; df = 2, P<0.05), meaning moderate Known-Groups Comparison Validation.

CONCLUSIONS

The PSM-HIV scale is a valid instrument that measures overall attitude and belief about controlling or coping with HIV-relevant symptoms.

Factors associated with quality of life in Chinese people with psoriasis: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The ultimate goal of medical care is to eradicate disease and restore normality to a person's life. Quality of life (QOL) is a concern as dermatologists and researchers strive to find better drug treatments. However, there have been few reports on the factors associated with QOL among Chinese people with psoriasis.

METHODS

A total of 185 people with psoriasis were surveyed to assess their sociodemographic status, disease-related information, psychosocial status, and QOL. The questionnaires included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Athens Insomnia Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Psychosocial Adaptation Questionnaire of Chronic Skin Disease and the Dermatology Life Quality Index. Multiple stepwise regression and path analysis were used to study the factors associated with QOL among Chinese people with psoriasis and to analyse the relationship between them.

RESULTS

The results showed that the presence of anxiety/depression, lesion area, sleep disorders, psychosocial adaptation, and sex could jointly predict 62.1% of the variance in QOL among Chinese people with psoriasis. According to previous theories and the literature, a path model was established for five variables. Four internal variables could be effectively explained. The values of the explanatory variables were 62.1% (F(1056) = 61.020, p = 0.000) for QOL, 71.8% (F(2433) = 117.370, p = 0.000) for anxiety/depression, 44.0% (F(660) = 36.935, p = 0.000) for sleep disorders, and 66.9% (F(6886) = 93.556, p = 0.000) for psychosocial adaptation. The path analysis confirmed that 9 paths were consistent with the predicted path, and 3 paths were not confirmed.

CONCLUSION

To improve QOL among Chinese people with psoriasis, attention should be given to the presence of anxiety/depression, lesion area, sleep disorders, psychosocial adaptation and sex differences. Therefore, health care programs for psoriasis should include physical, psychological and social aspects.