Translation and Primary Validation of the Persian Version of the Heart Failure Knowledge Scale (HFKS)

 The Heart Failure Knowledge Scale: (HFKS) is an instrument for measuring the knowledge of patients with heart failure disease. This study aimed to translate and validate the questionnaire in Iran. This was a methodological study. After translation from English into Persian and obtaining the views of experts, the content and face validity of the questionnaire were determined qualitatively. In order to determine the validity known groups comparison and criterion validity (correlation coefficient between Persian version of HFKS and European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire-MLHF) were performed. Reliability was examined using internal consistency analysis and test re test.. In all 150 patients with coronary hear disease completed the questionnaire. The results of known groups comparison showed that the mean knowledge of patients with heart failure with moderate economic level was significantly higher than other patients (p = 0.0001). Criterion validity showed a significant correlation between Persian version of the HFKS and the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behavior (r = 0.83) and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire-MLHF (r = 0.175). The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was 0.84. Test-retest reliability (ICC) of the questionnaire with interval time of two weeks was 0.88 (p < 0.001). The findings indicated that the Iranian version of the HFKS is a valid instrument and could be used to measure the knowledge of patients with heart failure in research and treatment departments. It is suggested that in the future studies the construct validity of the HFKS questionnaire should be investigated using a factor analysis in a more representative sample.