Assessing self-management in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 in Germany: validation of a German version of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities measure (SDSCA-G)

Abstract

BackgroundOne of the most widely used self-reporting tools assessing diabetes self-management in English is the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) measure. To date there is no psychometric validated instrument in German to assess self-management in patients with diabetes mellitus. Therefore, this study aimed to translate the SDSCA into German and examine its psychometric properties.MethodsThe English version of the SDSCA was translated into German following the guidelines for cultural adaptation. The German version of the SDSCA (SDSCA-G) was administered to a random sample of 315 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. Reliability was analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and item characteristics were assessed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA and CFA) were carried out to explore the construct validity. A multivariable linear regression model was used to identify the influence of predictor variables on the SDSCA-G sum score.ResultsThe Cronbach’s alpha for the SDSCA-G (all items) was α = 0.618 and an acceptable correlation between the SDSCA-G and Self-management Diabetes Mellitus-Questionnaire (SDQ) (ρ = 0.664) was identified. The EFA suggested a four factor construct as did the postulated model. The CFA showed the goodness of fit of the SDSCA-G. However, item 4 was found to be problematic regarding the analysis of psychometric properties. The omission of item 4 yielded an increase in Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.631) and improvements of the factor structure and model fit. No statistically significant influences of predictor variables on the SDSCA-G sum score were observed.ConclusionThe revised German version of the SDSCA (SDSCA-G) is a reliable and valid tool assessing self-management in adults with type 2 diabetes in Germany.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-014-0185-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Relationships of health literacy to self‐care behaviors in people with diabetes aged 60 and above: Empowerment as a mediator

“…We found that health literacy is directly linked to the self-care behavior of foot care, which is consistent with the findings of Her- criterion of 0.70; this lack of reliability has also been a problem in other studies (Kamradt et al, 2014;Lee et al, 2016). , which should be addressed in a future study.…”

“…(), while the linkage in this study was not mediated by empowerment. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to Cronbach's alpha of the foot‐care subscale of the SDSCA used in this study being below the usual criterion of 0.70; this lack of reliability has also been a problem in other studies (Kamradt et al., ; Lee et al., ). The subscale of foot care comprises only two items and such a small number of items in a subscale may result in a low Cronbach's alpha.…”

A Quantitative Research on Self-management of Type 2 Diabetes

“…General diet and blood glucose testing presented interitem correlation over 0.9 whereas exercise correlation was moderate and foot care and medication adherence correlation were average. All these results are in agreement with the English version of SDSCA, with the Arabic version of SDSCA and with the German version of SDSCA [7][8][9].…”

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Self‐care Ability Scale for the Elderly

“…Self-care and self-care ability have been explored in many studies (Cheng, Meng, Yang, & Zhang, 2013;Evers, Isenberg, Philipsen, Senten, & Brouns, 1993;Kamradt et al, 2014;Khankeh, Rahgozar, & Ranjbar, 2011;van Achterberg et al, 1991), especially since the "Self-care deficit of nursing" theory was proposed by Orem in the 1970s (Orem, 2001). Self-care deficit is the core of Orem's self-care theory and commonly linked with the nursing process.…”