This study describes the development of a new questionnaire to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with type 1 diabetes (the ViDa1 questionnaire) and provides information on its psychometric properties. For its development, open interviews with patients took place and topics relevant to patients' HRQoL were identified and items were generated. Qualitative analysis of items, expert review, and refinement of the questionnaire followed. A pilot study (N = 150) was conducted to explore the underlying structure of the 40-item ViDa1 questionnaire. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed and six of the items that did not load on any of the factors were eliminated. The results supported a four-dimensional structure for ViDa1, the dimensions being Interference of diabetes in everyday life, Self-care, Well-being, and Worry about the disease. Subsequently, the PCA was repeated in a larger sample (N = 578) with the reduced 34-item version of the questionnaire, and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed (N = 428). Overall fit indices obtained presented adequate values which supported the four-factor model initially proposed [(χ(df=554)2= 2601.93) (p < 0.001); Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.060 (CI = 0.056 −0.064)]. As regards reliability, the four dimensions of the ViDa1 demonstrated good internal consistency, with Cronbach's alphas ranging between 0.71 and 0.86. Evidence of convergent-discriminant validity in the form of high correlations with another specific HRQoL questionnaire for diabetes and low correlations with other constructs such as self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression were presented. The ViDa1 also discriminated between different aspects of clinical interest such as type of insulin treatment, presence of chronic complications, and glycemic control, temporal stability, and sensitivity to change after an intervention. In conclusion, the ViDa1 questionnaire presents adequate psychometric properties and may represent a good alternative for the evaluation of HRQoL in type 1 diabetes.

Purpose. To explore the factors involved in adherence to self-care behaviors in patients with type 1 diabetes. Materials and Methods. Patients with type 1 diabetes (age range: 14-71 years) were invited to participate at seven Spanish hospitals. They completed a dossier which recorded sociodemographic and clinical variables and also measured personality variables, emotional state, beliefs, and concerns regarding the illness, by means of questionnaires. Results. A total of 428 patients with type 1 diabetes were included (58% women, age 36 (11.8) years, diabetes duration 18.3 (10.2) years, HbA1c 7.9 +/-1.3%). A total of 60.1% of patients found it difficult to follow the treatment recommendations for the care of their disease. The reasons given were mood (25.2%), lack of motivation (13.4%), work (12%), and economic difficulties (3.8%). Other personal reasons were reported by 5.7%. Motivation, training in diabetes management, importance the patient attributed to the disease, and self-efficacy were the variables that predicted adherence to self-care behaviors, together accounting for 32% of its variance. Anxiety and depression were highly prevalent in this study population (57.1% and 23.1%, respectively) and were associated with lower adherence. Conclusion. In the present study assessing patients with type 1 diabetes, motivation, training in diabetes management, beliefs regarding the disease, and self-efficacy were the main contributors to adherence to self-care behaviors. On the other hand, anxiety and depression were highly prevalent and associated with lower adherence. Thus, supplementing therapeutic education with strategies designed to raise levels of motivation, discussion of beliefs about the disease, and encouragement of self-efficacy might be a useful way to increase patient involvement in self-care.

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