Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2024 Nov 18;31(16):1927-1936.
doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwae148.

Psychometric validation of the short version of the Information Needs in Cardiac Rehabilitation scale through a first global assessment

Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi  1 , Mayara Moura Alves da Cruz  2 , Luiz Carlos Marques Vanderlei  3 , Xia Liu  4 , Zhimin Xu  5 , Mariya Prakash Jiandani  6 , Lucky Cuenza  7 , Evangelia Kouidi  8 , Francesco Giallauria  9 , Jibril Mohammed  10 , Lela Maskhulia  11 , Patricia Fernandes Trevizan  12 , Ladislav Batalik  13 , Danielle Gomes Pereira  12 , Nidal Tourkmani  14   15 , Ivana Burazor  16 , Elio Venturini  17 , Gerlene Grudka Lira  18 , Manuella Bennaton Cardoso Vieira Rehfeld  19 , Victor Ribeiro Neves  20 , Geovana de Jesus Borges  21 , Won-Seok Kim  22 , Seungwoo Cha  22 , Ling Zhang  23 , Sherry L Grace  1   24
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Psychometric validation of the short version of the Information Needs in Cardiac Rehabilitation scale through a first global assessment

Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi et al. Eur J Prev Cardiol. .

Abstract

Aims: Tailored education is recommended for cardiac patients, yet little is known about information needs in areas of the world where it is most needed. This study aims to assess (i) the measurement properties of the Information Needs in Cardiac Rehabilitation short version (INCR-S) scale and (ii) patient's information needs globally.

Methods and results: In this cross-sectional study, English, simplified Chinese, Portuguese, or Korean versions of the INCR-S were administered to in- or out-patients via Qualtrics (January 2022-November 2023). Members of the International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation community facilitated recruitment. Importance and knowledge sufficiency of 36 items were rated. Links to evidence-based lay education were provided where warranted. A total of 1601 patients from 19 middle- and high-income countries across the world participated. Structural validity was supported upon factor analysis, with five subscales extracted: symptom response/medication, heart diseases/diagnostic tests/treatments, exercise and return-to-life roles/programmes to support, risk factors, and healthy eating/psychosocial management. Cronbach's alpha was 0.97. Construct validity was supported through significantly higher knowledge sufficiency ratings for all items and information importance ratings for all subscales in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) enrolees vs. non-enrolees (all P < 0.001). All items were rated as very important-particularly regarding cardiac events, nutrition, exercise benefits, medications, symptom response, risk factor control, and CR-but more so in high-income countries in the Americas and Western Pacific. Knowledge sufficiency ranged from 30.0 to 67.4%, varying by region and income class. Ratings were highest for medications and lowest for support groups, resistance training, and alternative medicine.

Conclusion: Identification of information needs using the valid and reliable INCR-S can inform educational approaches to optimize patients' health outcomes across the globe.

Keywords: Cardiac rehabilitation; Global health; Patient education; Questionnaires and surveys.

Plain language summary

Patients need information to manage their heart diseases, such as what to do if they have chest pain, what a heart attack is, and how to take their medicine to lower the chances they will have another one, so a study of the information needs of over 1600 heart patients from around the globe was undertaken for the first time. Using the Information Needs in Cardiac Rehabilitation short version (INCR-S) scale—which was shown to be a good measurement tool through the study and hence may improve patient education—patients reported they most wanted information about heart events, heart-healthy eating, exercise benefits, their pills, symptom response, risk factor control, and cardiac rehabilitation—but more so in high-income countries in the Americas and Western Pacific. Knowledge sufficiency ratings for each item ranged from 30.0 to 67.4%, also varying by region and income class; perceived knowledge sufficiency ratings were highest for medications and lowest for support groups, resistance training, and alternative medicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none declared.

Comment in