Health vulnerability questionnaire in heart failure, social version: internal structure

Abstract Objective: To assess evidence of internal structure validity and reliability of the social version of the Health Vulnerability Questionnaire in Heart Failure. Methods: This is a methodological study, based on psychometrics, carried out with 1,008 people with heart failure, treated at a health institution. Internal structure was assessed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, dimensionality, through parallel analysis, and factor reliability, through Cronbach’s alpha, itemtotal correlation, composite reliability and McDonald’s omega. Results: A three-factor model was obtained: Health System (Factor 1: three items), Hospital Discharge (Factor 2: five items) and Social Support (Factor 3: four items), reliable (Factor 1: Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91 and composite reliability of 0.94; Factor 2: Cronbach’s alpha of 0.66 and composite reliability of 0.90; Factor 3: Cronbach’s alpha of 0.57 and composite reliability of 0.79; McDonald’s omega of 0.79), with accuracy indices (Factor 1=0.910; Factor 2=0.830 and Factor 3=0.955), construct representativeness (Factor 1=0.954; Factor 2=0.911 and Factor 3=0.977), replicability (Factor 1=0.830; Factor 2=0.955 and Factor 3=0.910) and acceptable quality/adjustment (Non-Normed Fit Index of 0.986; Comparative Fit Index of 0.993; Goodness of Fit Index of 0.990; Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index of 0.981; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation of 0.042 and Root Mean Square of Residuals of 0.045). Conclusion: Factor analysis indicated a questionnaire with three dimensions, with evidence of structural validity and reliability, with theoretical refinement, suitable for measuring the social aspects of health vulnerability of people with heart failure.