Psychometric Analysis of the Heart Failure Somatic Perception Scale as a Measure of Patient Symptom Perception.
Corrine Y Jurgens, Christopher S Lee, Barbara Riegel
PMID 26696036WHAT IT FOUND
The 18-item Heart Failure Somatic Perception Scale reliably measures symptom burden and predicts hospital visits or death within one year.
Scores on the dyspnea and early subtle symptom subscales added risk information beyond the standard Seattle Heart Failure Score.
Key findings
01The 18-item scale showed high internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.90.
02Higher scores on the total scale and the dyspnea and early subtle subscales significantly predicted heart failure events within one year, independent of the Seattle Heart Failure Score.
03The scale correlated strongly with physical limitation measures but not with self-care management, confirming it measures symptom perception rather than response behavior.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was predominantly male (63.2%) and Caucasian (85.2%), which limits how well the findings apply to women and other racial or ethnic groups. The study used convenience samples from two different sources, which may introduce bias. The factor analysis indicated that the original single-scale structure was not a perfect fit, suggesting the subscales may be more informative than the total score alone.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest or funding sources were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the total HFSPS score is the only way to use the tool. The analysis showed that the 'early and subtle' subscale was a particularly strong predictor of adverse events, and the four-factor structure fit the data better than the single scale. Ignoring specific symptom clusters might miss high-risk patients.