Health belief scales developed specifically for people with tablet-treated type 2 diabetes

The design and development of scales to measure diabetes-specific health beliefs of patients treated with oral hypoglycaemic agents and diet are described. The scales, which were developed from the responses of 187 tablet-treated patients, measure perceived Benefits of, and Barriers to Treatment, and perceived Severity of, and Vulnerability to Complications of diabetes and other disorders unrelated to diabetes. Cronbach's alpha indicated that each scale was internally reliable (alpha = 0.67 to 0.89) and construct validity was indicated by expected correlations between the scales and other variables including measures of blood glucose control, body weight, and psychological well-being. Thus, patients who were overweight and/or had higher glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1) levels perceived their treatment to be less 'Cost-effective' (Benefits less Barriers), rated Complications as being more severe, and reported greater Vulnerability for themselves and the 'average person' with diabetes to these Complications (p less than 0.05 to p less than 0.01). Furthermore, respondents with higher Depression and Anxiety scores and lower Positive Well-being and Treatment Satisfaction scores reported greater Vulnerability to Complications for themselves and the 'average person', and also felt that their treatment was less 'Cost-effective' (p less than 0.01 to p less than 0.001). The measures are likely to be particularly useful in studies which assess the efficacy of interventions in modifying health beliefs with a view to achieving desired behaviours. They may also be useful as an instrument of audit if indicators about the suitability of possible interventions are sought.