English validation of the Living with long term conditions scale

BACKGROUND: The English version of the living with long term conditions (LwLTCs) scale is a comprehensive person-centred measure that evaluates the complex process of living with long term conditions. OBJECTIVES: To present the psychometric properties of the LwLTCs scale in an English-speaking population in people with different long term conditions. METHODS: An observational and cross-sectional study, with a convenience sample of 577 people living with osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus type 2, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic heart failure, and Parkinson's disease. Data collection was conducted between December 2021 and June 2022 across the United Kingdom via primary care surgeries and voluntary organisations. Psychometric properties including feasibility, internal consistency, confirmatory factor analysis, reproducibility, and content validity were tested. RESULTS: 44.7% were female, the age range was 37-97 years (98 ± 9.65), 71.1% were married and 76.4% were retired. Internal consistency was excellent for the total score (ordinal alpha =0.90) but confirmatory factor analysis showed that the fit of the 5-domain structure improved significantly if items 2, 5, 10, 16, 18 and 23 were removed and item 24 reallocated. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first validation study of the LwLTCs scale in an English-speaking population living with different long term conditions. Having a reliable and valid healthcare and social care outcome measure is essential to identify comprehensive and complex needs of people living with long term conditions. A shorter version of the LwLTCs scale is recommended to facilitate the implementation of person-centred pathways and more comprehensive care plans and evaluation in the national healthcare system. KEY MESSAGES: • Innovative comprehensive scale to evaluate the daily living. • Reliable and valid health and social care outcome measure.