Development and validation of an instrument measuring empowerment needs of patients with coronary heart disease after a percutaneous coronary intervention

Aims and objectives The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to measure empowerment needs of patients with coronary heart disease after a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Background Findings from previous research have demonstrated some positive impact of patient empowerment on self-efficacy, self-esteem, and recovery. There is little information about the empowerment needs of patients, specifically those with coronary heart disease after they have undergone a percutaneous coronary intervention, nor is there an instrument to help nurses identify such needs. Design An instrument development and validation study involving three phases was carried out. Methods The initial instrument was generated based on a literature review and interviews with post-PCI patients. The content validity was tested among a panel of experts using Delphi research techniques. Two-hundred and twenty-six patients were recruited for psychometric testing of the revised instrument, including face and content validity, item analysis, construct validity, criterion-related validity, and internal consistency reliability. Results Expert authority coefficient was 0.92. Kendall’s w coefficients were 0.30 in round 1 and 0.64 in round 2, indicating fair agreement among experts. Content validity index was 0.95 for the scale. Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.86 for the full score, demonstrating high internal consistency reliability. The item-dimension correlation coefficients were 0.64-0.81 (p < 0.01). The dimension-total correlation coefficients were 0.66-0.76 (p < 0.01). The correlation coefficients were 0.29-0.66 between different dimensions (p < 0.01). Conclusion The newly developed 19-item, five-dimension instrument has shown satisfactory validity and reliability and can be used to measure empowerment needs of patients with coronary heart disease after a percutaneous coronary intervention in China. Future research is still needed to confirm its psychometric properties among post-PCI patients in different clinical settings, cultures, and regions.