Development, reliability, and validity of the Insulin Treatment Self-Management Scale

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Diabetes Care
• Health Measurement

Background:

• Effective self-management of insulin treatment is crucial for individuals with diabetes to maintain glycemic control and prevent complications.
• Existing tools may not adequately capture the multifaceted nature of insulin treatment self-management.
• Developing a robust measurement instrument is essential for research and clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a reliable instrument for assessing the self-management of insulin treatment in adult individuals with diabetes.
• To create a tool that measures behavioral, cognitive, and affective dimensions of self-management.
• To provide a psychometrically sound measure for use in clinical and research settings.

Main Methods:

• A methodological instrument development study was conducted with 311 individuals with diabetes.
• An initial item pool of 63 items was refined based on expert review and statistical analysis.
• Exploratory factor analysis was used for structural validity, and reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, item-total correlation, split-half method, and test-retest reliability.

Main Results:

• A 32-item scale with three subscales (behavioral, cognitive, affective) was developed.
• The scale demonstrated good internal consistency, with a total Cronbach's alpha of 0.91.
• Preliminary validity and reliability were established for the developed instrument.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed scale provides a valid and reliable measure of insulin treatment self-management in adults with diabetes.
• This instrument can be utilized to assess self-management behaviors, cognitions, and affects related to insulin therapy.
• Further research can explore the application of this scale in diverse diabetic populations and clinical interventions.