A systematic review of self-care measures for adolescents with health needs

The current study sought to review instruments measuring self-care for adolescents with health needs to provide a summary of the tools available for conducting self-care research in this population.

Studies were mainly identified through searches in three electronic bibliographic databases (i.e., PsycINFO, CINAHL, and PubMed) and additional sources to retrieve relevant articles. Studies were included if they focused on self-care measures, included samples of adolescents (ages 10-19), were published in English peer-reviewed journals, dissertations, and from the years 1980 through 2020. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) was used to assess the methodological quality of each study and evaluate the measurement quality based on available studies.

A total of ten scales from 12 papers were identified to meet the search criteria and designed for adolescent patients with three types of health needs, including diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and others (female care and nutrition). There is a lack of a clear and comprehensive definition of self-care for different health needs. The dominant focus of the scales was the behavioral aspect of self-care (e.g., adherence to medication regimen), with only a few scales (e.g., female care) assessing the psychological aspect of self-care. The quality of the psychometric properties of the scales varied greatly.

Results highlighted the need for more research on developing and validating self-care measures for adolescents with health needs. The unique developmental characteristics of adolescents should be adequately considered, and the psychological aspect of self-care should be incorporated in measurement development.