Objective: To assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Hill–Bone compliance to high blood pressure therapy scale (HBTS) for use in adults with hypertension in China.
Methods: To develop a Chinese version of the study scale, it was translated into Chinese then back-translated into English. The final version was used in a survey conducted between Jan and June 2019 in a hospital in Xi’an, China. Reliability was assessed by using the Cronbach’s alpha as a measure of analyzing the internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to assess the validity of the Chinese scale.
Results: The EFA revealed a four-component structure representing two of medication taking; appointment keeping and reduced sodium intake. Percentages of explained variance were 37.55%, 52.77%, 65.24% and 73.97%, respectively. All questions have factor loadings > 0.4. The Cronbach’s alpha score for the entire questionnaire was 0.857.
Conclusion: The Chinese Hill–Bone scale (HBTS-C) is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring adherence among Chinese with hypertension. Use of this screening tool for the assessment of adherence to hypertension treatment is recommended.
Keywords: Hill–Bone scale, hypertension, adherence, psychometrics