A novel scale to define biopsychosocial aspects of people living with HIV: BETY-BQ

Abstract

AIM: To define the validity and reliability of a novel, biopsychosocial assessment scale (Cognitive Exercise Therapy Approach – Biopsychosocial Questionnaire (BETY-BQ)) in people living with HIV (PLWH). BACKGROUND: Problems such as pain, functional loss, mood changes, social isolation, sexuality and sleep quality disorders are common in PLWH. There is an urgent need for scales that can evaluate multiple aspects in PLWH. METHODS: A previously developed instrument (BETY-BQ) applied to PLWH followed in out-patient clinics of two-different hospitals. The validity and reliability of the BETY-BQ were evaluated against Short Form-36 (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), and FRAIL Questionnaire. For the reliability analysis, the same scales were repeated on 30 individuals with 1-week intervals with the test-retest method. RESULTS: A total of 150 PLWH recruited in this study among them 30 were included in reliability analysis. Moderate to high correlations were found between BETY-BQ and SF-36, HADS, CFS, FRAIL moderate to high (rho=0,467-0,717). The score distribution refuted floor and ceiling effects. The reliability of BETY-BQ was confirmed by test-retest strategy (ICC=0,951). The Cronbach's α value was 0.943 for the test and 0.963 for the retest. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, BETY-BQ was found to be valid and reliable in describing the biopsychosocial features of PLWH. BETY-BQ was presented as a genuine scale to researchers working in this field to evaluate the biopsychosocial features in a holistic manner.

Keywords

• biopsychosocial model
• HIV
• validity and reliability
• quality of life
• patient reported outcome measures