Measuring Self-Care in Persons With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

This systematic review examines the characteristics and psychometric properties of the instruments used to assess self-care behaviors among persons with type 2 diabetes. Electronic databases were searched for relevant studies published in English within the past 20 years. Thirty different instruments were identified in 75 articles: 18 original instruments on type 2 diabetes mellitus self-care, 8 translated or revised version, and 4 not specific but relevant to diabetes. Twenty-one instruments were multidimensional and addressed multiple dimensions of self-care behavior. Nine were unidimensional: three focusing exclusively on medication taking, three on diet, one on physical activity, one on self-monitoring of blood glucose, and one on oral care. Most instruments (22 of 30) were developed during the last decade. Only 10 were repeated more than once. Nineteen of the 30 instruments reported both reliability and validity information but with varying degrees of rigor. In conclusion, most instruments used to measure self-care were relatively new and had been applied to only a limited number of studies with incomplete psychometric profiles. Rigorous psychometric testing, operational definition of self-care, and sufficient explanation of scoring need to be considered for further instrument development.

Literacy in health and self-care in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus

“…Given that patients have to cope with the disease and participate in self-care activities, they must be health literate, since individuals with limited training and insufficient health literacy tend to have more difficulties during therapy (4,5) , presenting low adherence to the therapeutic regimen, poor understanding of health problems, lack of self-care knowledge, low use of preventive services, poor general health and morbidity (6,7) .…”

Socio-demographic and clinical determinants of self-care in adults with type 2 diabetes: a multicentre observational study

“…Prior studies have lacked a theoretical framework [28,29] and therefore self-care of T2DM has not been explored as a dynamic and complex phenomenon with multiple dimensions. Instruments used to measure self-care have not been theoretically based [30,31]. Comorbid conditions have not been addressed as potentially influencing the self-care process.…”

Assessing Diabetes Self-Management with the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) Can Help Analyse Behavioural Problems Related to Reduced Glycaemic Control

“…It is therefore not surprising that over the last three decades a variety of self-report measures concerning diabetes self-management have been developed. A recent systematic review identified a total of 21 multidimensional scales of overall diabetes self-management plus some additional ones focussing on single self-management domains, originating from various countries [ 8 ]. However, despite this seeming abundance of measurement options, the number of useful and psychometrically satisfactory instruments is indeed limited.…”

“…Moreover, not all of the tools reviewed in the paper are at all accessible. Out of the 21 scales, only ten were available in English language, and out of those, only five were rated sufficiently validated by the reviewing authors [ 8 ]. This result clearly corresponds to two earlier reviews on the topic which collected a total of five [ 9 ] and seven [ 10 ] self-management scales, respectively.…”