Barbaranelli, Claudio

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. The MS validity and reliability were tested with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and hypothesis testing, and with Cronbach's alpha and model-based internal consistency index, respectively.

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. The purpose of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the 8-item CPS in HF caregivers.