Background 

Caregivers can contribute enormously to the self-care of patients with heart failure (HF). The Caregiver Contribution to Self-care of Heart Failure Index (CC-SCHFI) measures these contributions across 3 scales: self-care maintenance, which evaluates caregiver contributions to symptom monitoring and treatment adherence; self-care management, which evaluates caregiver contributions in dealing with symptoms; and caregiver confidence, which assesses caregiver self-efficacy in managing all contributions to self-care. Although the CC-SCHFI has been used in several investigations, only 1 study has evaluated its psychometric characteristics.

Objective 

The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CC-SCHFI in Brazil.

Methods 

A cross-sectional design was used in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess construct validity, and factor score determinacy coefficients were computed to evaluate internal consistency reliability.

Results 

The sample comprised 99 caregivers of patients with HF. Most were women (73%), with a mean age of 48 ± 14 years; 57% were patients' spouses. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the original factor structure of the instrument, with supportive fit indices for all 3 scales (comparative fit index, 0.95–1.00; root-mean-square error of approximation, 0.00–0.057). Reliability estimates were adequate for each CC-SCHFI scale (0.77–0.96).

Conclusions 

The CC-SCHFI is a valid and reliable scale to measure caregiver contributions to self-care maintenance, caregiver contributions to self-care management, and caregiver confidence in HF.

中文翻译：

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南美人群照顾者对心力衰竭指数自我护理贡献的心理计量学特征

背景 

护理人员能够极大地有助于自理的病人心脏衰竭（HF）。照顾者对心力衰竭自我护理的贡献指数（CC-SCHFI）可以通过3个量表来衡量这些贡献：自我护理维持，评估照顾者对症状监测和治疗依从性的贡献；自我护理管理，评估照顾者在治疗症状方面的贡献；和照顾者的信心，从而评估护理人员管理对所有捐款自我效能自我保健。尽管CC-SCHFI已用于多项研究，但只有1项研究评估了其心理测量特征。

目的 

这项研究的目的是评估巴西CC-SCHFI的心理测量特性。

方法 

在这项研究中使用了横截面设计。使用验证性因子分析来评估构建体的有效性，并计算因子得分的确定性系数以评估内部一致性的可靠性。

结果 

该样本包括99名HF患者的看护人。多数是女性（73％），平均年龄为48±14岁。患者的配偶占57％。验证性因子分析确认了仪器的原始因子结构，所有三个量表均具有支持拟合指数（比较拟合指数为0.95–1.00；近似均方根误差为0.00–0.057）。每个CC-SCHFI量表的可靠性估计都足够（0.77–0.96）。

结论 

CC-SCHFI是一种有效且可靠的量表，用于衡量护理人员对自我护理维护的贡献，护理人员对自我护理管理的贡献以及护理人员对HF的信心。