Development of an instrument to evaluate the knowledge that the patient with hepatic cirrhosis has about his disease and treatment

Abstract

Introduction: hepatic cirrhosis (HC) is a disease with high morbidity and mortality in Brazil. Its treatment is complex and requires from lifestyle changes to large surgeries such as liver transplantation. To reach the best treatment results, it is necessary to guarantee a good patient’s adherence to the treatment. Studies indicate that the patient’s self-knowledge about his or her clinical condition is a determining factor in its adherence. Objectives: to assist in the design of an instrument that evaluates knowledge about the disease and treatment of HC. Methodology: The development process of the instrument will be divided into 3 stages: construction of the instrument (1st stage), evaluation of content validity and clarity of the instrument (2nd stage) and assessment of the reliability of the instrument (3 rd stage). Results: an instrument to evaluate the cirrhotic patient knowledge about the disease was made, analyzed by specialists and approved in the criteria proposed. Conclusions: 1) The development of the instrument followed the steps described in literature. 2) The suggestion of the evaluators allowed to restructure the questions making them clearer and more relevant to the proposal of the instrument. 3) it was possible to achieve satisfactorily the proposal of the construction of the instrument.