Psychometric evaluation of the Heart Failure Somatic Perception Scale in a European heart failure population.

Background: The Heart Failure Somatic Perception Scale (HFSPS) is a four-factor instrument used to assess how bothersome are 18 physical signs and symptoms of heart failure. To date, construct validity and reliability of the HFSPS have been evaluated in only one American study and never in a European population.

Aim: To evaluate psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the HFSPS in a European heart failure population.

Caregiver Contribution to Self-care in Patients With Heart Failure: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

Background: Caregiver contribution to heart failure (HF) self-care maintenance and management is important in HF care. Literature remains unclear regarding which practices caregivers perform to contribute to self-care for patients with HF, especially in Southern Europe.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe caregiver contributions to HF self-care maintenance (ie, treatment adherence and symptom monitoring) and management (ie, managing HF symptoms when they occur).

The Influence of Mutuality on Self-Care in Heart Failure Patients and Caregivers: A Dyadic Analysis.

Mutuality in patient-caregiver dyad may improve heart failure (HF) patient self-care and caregiver contribution to self-care, but literature is scarce. We evaluated the influence of mutuality and its dimensions on patient-caregiver dyad self-care. A sample of 366 HF patient-caregiver dyads was enrolled.

Psychometric characteristics of the mutuality scale in heart failure patients and caregivers.

Background: Higher patient-caregiver mutuality is associated with improved patient and caregiver outcomes, but no studies have tested the psychometric characteristics of the mutuality scale (MS) in heart failure (HF) patient and caregiver population.

Objectives: To test the validity and reliability of the MS.

Methods: A cross-sectional design.

Patterns of self-care and clinical events in a cohort of adults with heart failure: 1 year follow-up.

Background: Heart failure (HF) self-care is important in reducing clinical events (all-cause mortality, emergency room visits and hospitalizations). HF self-care behaviors are multidimensional and include maintenance (i.e.

Psychometric evaluation of the Caregiver Preparedness Scale in caregivers of adults with heart failure.

Well-prepared informal caregivers play an important role in heart failure (HF) care, so an instrument to evaluate their preparedness to care is important. To date, HF caregiver preparedness has been rarely investigated quantitatively. The Caregiver Preparedness Scale (CPS) has been used in other chronic condition populations, but its psychometric characteristics have never been tested in HF caregivers.

Caregiver determinants of patient clinical event risk in heart failure.

Background: Preventing hospitalization and improving event-free survival are primary goals of heart failure (HF) treatment according to current European Society of Cardiology guidelines; however, substantial uncertainty remains in our ability to predict risk and improve outcomes. Although caregivers often assist patients to manage their HF, little is known about their influence on clinical outcomes.

Aims: To quantify the influence of patient and caregiver characteristics on patient clinical event risk in HF.

The lived experience of caregivers of persons with heart failure: A phenomenological study.

Background: Heart failure (HF) patients need to follow a strict pharmacological and nonpharmacological regimen in order to counteract the burden of the disease, and informal caregivers are an important resource for HF patients in managing and coping with their disease. Few studies have examined the lived experience of these caregivers with a rigorous phenomenological approach, and none have been conducted in Italy.

Aim: To describe the lived experience of the caregivers of HF patients.

Psychometric characteristics of the caregiver burden inventory in caregivers of adults with heart failure.

Background: A better understanding of caregiver burden and its determinants is essential to support caregivers. Many instruments have been developed to measure caregiver burden in various illness contexts, but few have been psychometrically tested for caregivers of heart failure patients.

Aims: The aim of this study was to test the validity (factorial and concurrent validity) and reliability (internal consistency) of the caregiver burden inventory (CBI) in a cohort of caregivers of heart failure patients.

MOTIVATional intErviewing to improve self-care in Heart Failure patients (MOTIVATE-HF): Study protocol of a three-arm multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Aims: Heart Failure (HF) self-care improves patient outcomes but trials designed to improve HF self-care have shown inconsistent results. Interventions may be more effective in improving self-care if they mobilize support from providers, promote self-efficacy, increase understanding of HF, increase the family involvement, and are individualized. All of these elements are emphasized in motivational interviewing (MI); few trials have been conducted using MI in HF patients and rarely have caregivers been involved in MI interventions.

Clinical and socio-demographic determinants of self-care behaviours in patients with heart failure and diabetes mellitus: A multicentre cross-sectional study.

Background: Self-care is vital for patients with heart failure to maintain health and quality of life, and it is even more vital for those who are also affected by diabetes mellitus, since they are at higher risk of worse outcomes. The literature is unclear on the influence of diabetes on heart failure self-care as well as on the influence of socio-demographic and clinical factors on self-care.

Objectives: (1) To compare self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence of patients with heart failure and diabetes versus those heart failure patients without diabetes; (2) to estimate if the presence of diabetes influences self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence of heart failure patients; (3) to identify socio-demographic and clinical determinants of self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence in patients with heart failure and diabetes.

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. Mixed methods designs: an innovative methodological approach for nursing research. The mixed method research designs (MM) combine qualitative and quantitative approaches in the research process, in a single study or series of studies.

Patterns of Self-care in Adults With Heart Failure and Their Associations With Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics, Quality of Life, and Hospitalizations: A Cluster Analysis.

Background: Self-care is important in heart failure (HF) treatment, but patients may have difficulties and be inconsistent in its performance. Inconsistencies in self-care behaviors may mirror patterns of self-care in HF patients that are worth identifying to provide interventions tailored to patients.

Objectives: The aims of this study are to identify clusters of HF patients in relation to self-care behaviors and to examine and compare the profile of each HF patient cluster considering the patient's sociodemographics, clinical variables, quality of life, and hospitalizations.