The development of the heiQ™ was guided by extensive consultation, workshops and interviews with stakeholders. This process enabled the development of important and well-defined indicators of course impact.
The heiQ™ validation and practical use have been published in the international journal Patient Education and Counseling.
The questionnaire was first constructed using results from 591 course participants. The final 49 items were selected using state-of-the-art psychometric techniques including Structural Equation Modeling and Item Response Theory. The scales were then validated in an additional independent sample of 592 people with a wide range of chronic diseases and demographic characteristics. The results showed that the heiQ™ is a reliable and sensitive method to assess the benefits of a broad range of health education programs. The 8 scales are independent, so that each scale could be used on its own. While it is highly recommend that all scales (i.e., all 8 scales) are administered, if a smaller range of impact information is required, then individual scales may be administered. However, item order must be preserved.
The heiQ us currently being used to evaluate the impact of the following kinds of courses:
The heiQ™ is administered at Baseline (before the course starts) and at Follow-up (after the course finishes). The follow-ups may be at the last session of the course and six or more months later. Scoring is a simple additive system where each scale is standardised to reflect the response options.
For more information on the background to the heiQ™ please click on the link below or contact the heiQ™ team at the:
Centre for Rheumatic Diseases,
Department of Medicine, RMH,
The University of Melbourne,
Parkville, Australia,
VIC 3050.
Email: hei-q@unimelb.edu.au
Ph: +61-3-8344 3148
http://www.crd.unimelb.edu.au/heiq