Sunday, April 3, 2005
Hall of Mirrors (Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza)
Session: 1223, Graduate Student Poster Session, 3:00 PM

Psychometric Testing of the Meaning in Heart Disease Instrument

Brenda Skaggs, Predoctoral Student1, Bernice Yates, Associate Dean for Research1, Cecilia Barron1, Melody Hertzog, Assistant Professor1, Joseph Norman, Associate Professor2, and Bunny Pozehl, Associate Professor1. (1) College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 1321 Greenway Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73127, (2) Division of Physical Therapy Education, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 984420 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4420

Psychometric Testing of the Meaning in Heart Disease Instrument

Problem: While individuals who undergo percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) expect to “get back to normal,” symptoms may return resulting in decreased functional status. Decreased functioning may be related to the “meaning” attached to the heart disease as it interrupts the life experience. Searching for meaning in heart disease has not been studied quantitatively, and, since an instrument to measure these meaning-based coping processes was not available, the Meaning in Heart Disease instrument (MHD) was developed. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the MHD in patients who underwent PCI.

Theoretical/conceptual framework: The MHD was developed based on the cognitive appraisal model and reflects the process of searching for meaning. When a significant, negatively appraised event (e.g. cardiac event) occurs, individuals try to understand what has happened, try to make the event fit in with life, or change the purpose/direction of life.

Subjects: 232 individuals who underwent PCI.

Methodology: A prospective, survey design was used. Invitations to participate were extended via the mail. Interested individuals who returned a response card were screened for eligibility and received study materials (MHD, SF-36v2TM, Seattle Angina Questionnaire, MacNew, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Personal Mastery Scale) via the mail. Reliability analysis, factor analysis, and correlations were used to examine the psychometric properties of the MHD.

Results: Four scales emerged during preliminary analysis—Shattered Meaning (α =.93), Refocusing Global Meaning (α=.93), Searching for Answers (α=.82), and Ignoring Heart Disease (α=.77).

Implications: The MHD shows promise as a measure of meaning-based coping processes related to heart disease. It is expected to be useful in testing the effects of cognitive therapy-based nursing interventions aimed at helping individuals integrate heart disease into the life experience.

Session #1223 - Graduate Student Poster Session

The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)