PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sόnia Martins
AU  - Mário R. Simões
AU  - João A. Fonseca
AU  - Lia Fernandes
TI  - Ways of coping with asthma in everyday life: Validation of the Portuguese version
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - p4922
VI  - 38
IP  - Suppl 55
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p4922.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p4922.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2011 Sep 01; 38
AB  - Background: This study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of Portuguese version of scale Ways of Coping with Asthma in Everyday Life – WCAEL (Aalto et al, 2002), developed to measure coping in everyday life in asthmatic adults.Methods: Cross-sectional study with 253 patients, both sexes, with asthma diagnose, recruited consecutively from the Allergy & Asthma outpatient clinic (HSJoão/Porto). Exclusion criterion were: psychiatry disease and alcohol/drugs abuse. A subsample of 247 patients were evaluated with the following scales (Portuguese versions): Ways of Coping with Asthma in Everyday Life - WCAEL, Problem Solving Inventory – PSI and Asthma Control Questionnaire – ACQ. A subsample of40 patients was reassessed after four weeks. These patients also were classified according severity of asthma (GINA, 2006) and the duration of the illness.Results: The participants were mostly females (78.5%), with a mean (sd) age of 40.6 (15.3) years. The majority (78.7%) had severe persistent asthma and the mean duration of the illness was 20.8 (15.4) years. In the final factor analysis of principal component method (varimax rotation) 4 factors were extracted (explaining 46.3% of total variance). The internal consistency values were moderate (α=0.56-0.77). WCAEL showed significant associations with ACQ, as well as good reproducibility over time (rs=0.58-0.76).Conclusion: This study data support the reliability, construct and criterion validity of the Portuguese version of WCAEL seems a promising scale for assessment the coping with asthma in everyday life.