Making robust decisions about the impact of health education programs: Psychometric evaluation of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ) in diverse patient groups in Norway

OBJECTIVE: To undertake a rigorous psychometric evaluation of the widely used eight-scale heiQ version 2.0 (evaluating immediate effects of self-management interventions) in diverse patient groups in Norway. <br /><br />METHODS: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 1019 Norwegians. Data were extracted from studies among people with musculoskeletal disorders (n=516), psoriasis (n=254), heart disease (n=97), and Type 2 diabetes (n=152). To investigate the factorial validity of the Norwegian heiQ, confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were carried out using Mplus. <br /><br />RESULTS: One-factor model fit, without modifications, was acceptable for the Emotional distress scale. Only one correlated residual was required to be fitted in each of the other scales to achieve satisfactory model fit. The postulated highly restricted full eight-factor model (no cross-loadings, no correlated residuals) showed good fit to the data. Internal consistency was acceptable for most scales (0.72-0.90) but low for Self-monitoring and insight. <br /><br />CONCLUSION: This study of the Norwegian heiQ replicates the factor structure of the original Australian heiQ, using robust and highly restricted CFA procedures, demonstrating a clean independent clusters model structure. <br /><br />PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Researchers, program implementers and policymakers could use the Norwegian heiQ with confidence to generate reliable information on program outcomes and support quality improvement activities.