Evaluating the cardiac camp experience development of the Hubbard Camp Outcome Scale /

by 1978- Hubbard, Amanda Dawn

The current study described the development and validation of the Hubbard Camp Outcome Scale (H-COS), an instrument designed to assess the benefits of camp for children with congenital heart defects (CHD). 29 campers attended Camp Braveheart, a camp for children with CHD, and completed the RCMAS, CATIS, CDI, PedsQL, PedsQL Cardiac Module, and H-COS. Exploratory factor analysis of the H-COS resulted in a 29-item scale with a total scale score and three subscale scores. Reliability of the H-COS was adequate with an overall alpha of .93. The H-COS appeared to be a valid instrument, with significant correlations with the CDI, PedsQL, and the PedsQL Cardiac Module. No differences were found on gender or age of the child. The data from the current study suggests that based upon this limited sample size, the H-COS seems to be a valuable instrument for assessing the benefits of camp for children with CHD.