Self-care management questionnaire for long-term indwelling urinary catheter users

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Behavioral Science
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Self-management is crucial for chronic illness management.
• Self-efficacy is a key component of self-management.
• Urinary catheter use requires effective self-management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically test new measures for urinary catheter self-efficacy (C-SE) and self-management (C-SMG).
• To evaluate the suitability of these scales for use in a randomized clinical trial (RCT).

Main Methods:

• Two new scales (C-SE and C-SMG) were developed based on existing instruments.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess scale structure and validity.
• Reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and correlation analyses were performed on data from 202 participants at baseline and 158 at 6 months.

Main Results:

• Both C-SE and C-SMG scales were refined to 13 items each, with four factors in C-SE and three in C-SMG.
• Reliability was satisfactory for both scales, though some C-SMG subscales showed lower reliability.
• Confirmatory factor analysis supported the scale structures, and the scales were found to be related (r=0.25, P<0.001).

Conclusions:

• The C-SE and C-SMG scales are psychometrically sound and appropriate for research.
• These scales can be used individually or combined in intervention studies for long-term indwelling urinary catheter users.
• Further testing with modifications to the C-SMG response levels is recommended.