A Psychometric Evaluation of the Adapted Dyadic Self-Care in Transplant Scale

Background and Purpose: Verification of a caregiver is required for transplant listing; however, no tool assesses how patient-caregiver dyads manage transplant care. This study adapted and validated the Dyadic Self-Care in Transplant (D-SCIT) scale. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 50 lung transplant patient-caregiver dyads. Content validity was assessed through cognitive interviews, and construct validity was assessed by examining the association between dyad type and relationship mutuality. Results: Dyads completed the D-SCIT with ease, confirming content validity. Congruent dyads were positively correlated with the dyadic mean mutuality score (0.17) and negatively correlated with dyadic incongruence in mutuality (-0.10), demonstrating convergent validity. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary validation of the D-SCIT to assess how transplant dyads engage in transplant self-care, addressing a clinical and research gap.