Development and psychometric testing of the self-care scale for patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF-SCS-10)

Description of self-care behaviours in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation on oral anticoagulant therapy: a scoping review

AIMS

The primary aim of this scoping review was to explore and categorize the medication-related self-care behaviours exhibited by patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who are on oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A scoping review was performed, and the systematic search of the literature yielded an initial 887 records. After deduplication and screening, 61 studies were included in the analysis, ranging from 2003 to 2023. The studies represented a wide geographical distribution and diverse methodologies. The results identified 16 self-care behaviours: a higher focus of the included literature on self-care monitoring (60.65% of studies), followed by self-care management and self-care maintenance (each 16.39%). These behaviours ranged from regular blood testing to consulting healthcare providers and lifestyle changes. The results also highlighted the relationship between treatment satisfaction, self-efficacy, and adherence. Several studies emphasized the critical role of healthcare providers in influencing medication adherence. Furthermore, patient knowledge, quality of life, and psychological factors were identified as key elements affecting self-care behaviours.

CONCLUSION

The review provides a comprehensive landscape of medication-related self-care behaviours among NVAF patients on OAC therapy. It underscores the predominance of self-care monitoring behaviours and the critical roles of healthcare providers, psychological factors, and patient knowledge in influencing these behaviours. The findings also highlight the necessity for an integrated, patient-centred approach to improving self-care and self-management in OAC treatment. Future research should focus on addressing the identified gaps, including the relative lack of studies on lifestyle modification, emotional well-being, and technology-assisted interventions.

REGISTRATION

This review is part of a broader project and is documented at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05820854.

Factors influencing self-management behavior during the "Blanking Period" in patients with atrial fibrillation: A cross-sectional study based on the information-motivation-behavioral skills model

BACKGROUND

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is becoming increasingly common. Effective self-management during the "Blanking Period" is critical. The Information-Motivation-Behavioral skills (IMB) model can be used to study health behaviors in chronic disease patients, but it has not been studied in AF patients.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to explore the influencing factors and interaction pathways of self-management behavior in AF patients during the "Blanking Period" using the IMB model.

METHODS

From June to December 2021, a cross-sectional design was conducted. Patients with AF during the "Blanking Period" (N=220) were recruited. They filled out several quantitative questionnaires, including the Jessa Atrial Fibrillation Knowledge Questionnaire, the Confidence in Atrial Fibrillation Management Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale, and the Self-care Scale for Chronic Atrial Fibrillation Patients. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and path analysis.

RESULTS

Total score of self-management behavior was (33.83 ± 10.66). AF knowledge (β = 0.252, P < 0.001), self-management confidence (β = 0.219, P < 0.001), social support (β = 0.291, P < 0.001), and health literacy (β = 0.262, P < 0.001) were all positively correlated with patients' self-management behavior, accounting for 66.50 percent of the total variance.

CONCLUSIONS

During the "Blanking Period", the IMB model can be used to predict the factors that influence self-management behavior in AF patients. By using IMB model, interventions targeting patient-specific influencing factors could improve self-management behavior and quality of life in AF patients.

Childbirth Readiness Scale (CRS): instrument development and psychometric properties

Background

Childbirth preparation plays an important role in reducing maternal mortality and improving women’s childbirth experience. Evaluating childbirth readiness levels before and after interventions provides a basis for formulating more targeted and effective interventions. However, existing tools only assess partial childbirth preparation or have limited evidence of reliability and validity. The aim of this study was thus to develop a new instrument for use during the third trimester to comprehensively assess the readiness level of pregnant women, and test the scale’s psychometric properties.

Methods

The scale was developed through exploratory mixed methods including qualitative and quantitative phases. A literature review and in-depth semi-structured interviews were utilized to identify the scale items. A Delphi expert consultation evaluated the content validity. Psychometric testing was conducted in a convenience sample of 731 pregnant women in the third trimester (recruited from 3 tertiary hospitals in Hubei province in China). Item analysis was used to screen items; exploratory factor analysis was performed to extract factors; confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate fit on the factor structures.

Results

The final scale consisted of four dimensions and 18 items that explained 65.8% of the total variance. Confirmative factor analysis (CFA) model showed that the 4-factor model fits the data well. The total Cronbach alpha coefficient of the total scale and 4 factors was 0.935 and 0.853–0.914. The split-half reliability was 0.880. The dimensions comprised “Self-management”, “Information literacy”, “Birth confidence” and “Birth plan”.

Conclusions

The childbirth readiness scale we developed has good reliability and validity, and can be used to comprehensively assess the readiness level of pregnant women. In addition to understanding the overall level of women’s childbirth readiness, using subscale scores, improvements can be targeted to specific areas of the preparation for childbirth, to improve the efficiency of the intervention.