Evaluation of Quality-of-Life Assessment Instruments for Heart Failure Patients

Heart failure affects about 65 million people globally, with wearable devices being used more frequently as one of the treatment modalities. The purpose of this scoping review was to evaluate the psychometric properties of quality of life assessment instruments used with heart failure patients, to include patients who may be treated with a wearable left ventricular assist device. Eligible articles were retrieved from medical and allied health databases on studies evaluating the properties of instruments used to measure quality of life in heart failure patients. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments taxonomy was used to assess measurement properties of instruments used in 18 studies selected for review. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Plus-Heart Failure, received the highest score. Fourteen of the 18 reviewed studies scored above the acceptable score of 72, while 4 scored below 72. The risk of bias was minimized with 2 reviewers providing feedback on the study protocol and literature review. However, using more than 2 reviewers may have further reduced this risk. Findings inform nurse clinicians, researchers, educators, and policymakers about selecting instruments for assessing heart failure patients’ quality of life, to include patients using a wearable device.