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Instrument Summary for Diabetes

Please note that this section is an archive and is no longer being updated.



1. Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID)
Additional Resources
Instrument Reviews

As an example of best practices (the ideal way to evaluate an instrument for your specific use), we have written full critiques of the three instruments cited:


Measurement in Practice

In 2002, METRIC's initial review of the diabetes construct resulted in a summary of commonly used instruments specific to the assessment of quality of life among Type I and Type II diabetes patients. This summary provides descriptive and psychometric information for 24 instruments.

Development: The PAID was developed by Polonsky et al. (1995) as a self-administered measure whereby patients describe common problematic situations and rate their agreement with such situations.

Purpose: The PAID assesses the emotional functioning of diabetes patients.

Useful Facts: It has 20 items, was originally written in English, and has multiple language translations available including Spanish, German, Japanese, and Chinese. Items are scored on a five-point scale from zero (not a problem) to four (serious problem).

VA Relevance: No information has been founding regarding the use of this instrument in veteran populations.

Availability: Items are available in the developmental article by Polonsky WH et al.1 or contact Garry Welch, PhD, Director of the Behavioral Medicine Research at
Baystate Medical Center
140 High Street Room 239
Springfield, MA 01199
Garry.Welch@Joslin.Harvard.edu

References:

  1. Polonsky WH, Anderson BJ, Lohrer PA, Welch G, Jacobson AM, Aponte JE, Schwartz CE: Assessment of diabetes-related distress. Diabetes Care 1995;18:754-60. [Abstract ]
  2. Welch GW, Jacobson AM, Polonsky WH: The Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale: An evaluation of its clinical utility. Diabetes Care 20:760-766, 1997. [Abstract ]
  3. Welch G, Weinger K, Anderson B, Polonsky WH. Responsiveness of the Problem Areas In Diabetes (PAID) questionnaire. Diabetic Medicine. 2003: 20;69-72. [Abstract ]




2. Diabetes Care Profile (DCP)

Development: The DCP is a self-administered survey developed by Fitzgerald et al. (1996) of the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center (MDRTC). The developmental article suggests that the DCP be used as a baseline measure in intervention studies, while selected scales could be used as outcome measures of intervention impact.

Purpose: The DCP measures psychological and social factors important in a diabetes patient's adjustment to the disease and its treatment

Useful Facts: It contains 234 items encompassing seven sections and 16 scales. The 16 scales assess attitudes, beliefs, adherence to self-care, and the difficulties of diabetes self-care. The DCP also contains items on demographics and self-care practices. Item scoring includes Likert scales, dichotomous responses, and close-ended questions. Visit www.med.umich.edu/mdrtc for more information.

VA Relevance: This instrument has been used in a population of Hispanic veterans.4

Availability: This instrument is available from the MDRTC website.

References:

  1. Fitzgerald JT, Davis WK, Connell CM, Hess GE, Funnell MM, Hiss RG. Development and validation of the Diabetes Care Profile. Eval Health Prof. 1996 Jun;19(2):208-30. [Abstract ]
  2. Anderson RM, Fitzgerald JT, Wisdom K, Davis WK, Hiss RG. A comparison of global versus disease-specific quality-of-life measures in patients with NIDDM. Diabetes Care. 1997 Mar;20(3):299-305. [Abstract ]
  3. Fitzgerald JT, Anderson RM, Gruppen LD, Davis WK, Aman LC, Jacober SJ, Grunberger G. The reliability of the Diabetes Care Profile for African Americans. Eval Health Prof. 1998 Mar;21(1):52-65. [Abstract ]
  4. Cunningham V, Mohler MJ, Wendel CS, Hoffman RM, Murata GH, Shah JH, Duckworth WC. Reliability and validity of the DCP among hispanic veterans. Eval Health Prof. 2005 Dec;28(4):447-63. [Abstract ]




3. Diabetes Specific Quality of Life Scale (DSQOLS)

Development: The DSQOLS was developed by Bott et al. (1998).

Purpose: The DSQOLS measures Quality of Life (QoL) and treatment satisfaction specifically among Type I diabetes patients.

Useful Facts: There are 39 items among 6 dimensions (social relations, leisure time restrictions/flexibility, physical complaints, worries about the future, diet restriction, daily hassles), the items were constructed from existing scales and discussions with Type I diabetics, and all items are scored on a six-point scale.

VA Relevance: No information has been founding regarding the use of this instrument in veteran populations.

Availability: This instrument may be found in the article by Bott et al. (1988).

References:

  1. Bott U, Mühlhauser I, Overmann H, Berger M. Validation of a Diabetes-Specific Quality-of-Life Scale for patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care 1998;21(5):757-769. [Abstract ]
  2. Bott U, Bott S, Hemmann D, Berger M. Evaluation of a holistic treatment and teaching programme for patients with Type 1 diabetes who failed to achieve their therapeutic goals under intensified insulin therapy. Diabetic Medicine 2000;17(9):635-643. [Abstract ]
  3. Garratt AM, Schmidt L, Fitzpatrick R. Patient-assessed health outcome measures for diabetes: a structured review. Diabetic Medicine 2002;19:1-11. [Abstract ]




4. Diabetes Quality of Life Measure (DQOL)

Development: The DQOL was originally developed by Jacobson et al. for use in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT, 1980s), a multicenter clinical trial which evaluated the effects of two treatment regimens on early vascular complications. The developmental population included 192 adolescents and adults with Type I diabetes and an age range of 13-39 years.

Purpose: The purpose of the DQOL is to measure quality of life and the burden of an intensive treatment regimen among diabetes patients.

Useful Facts: It is a self-administered scale that contains 46 items (10 additional items are available for assessment among adolescents), which are scored on a five-point Likert scale with scores of "1" indicating less burden or worry. The scale has four subscales: treatment impact, treatment satisfaction, worry about social and vocational issues, and worry about long-term complications. Translations are available in Chinese, Spanish, and French. Items were based on literature reviews and discussions with Type I diabetes patients and clinicians.

VA Relevance: No information has been founding regarding the use of this instrument in veteran populations.

Availability: The instrument can be found in the developmental article (Jacobson et al., 1988) below.

References:

  1. Jacobson A, Barofsky I, Cleary P, and Rand L. Reliability and validity of a diabetes quality-of-life measure for the diabetes control and complications trial (DCCT). Diabetes Care 1988;11:725-732. [Includes scale] [Abstract ]
  2. Jacobson AM, de Groot M, Samson JA. The evaluation of 2 measures of quality-of-life in patients with Type-1 and Type-II diabetes. Diabetes Care 1994;17(4):267-74. [Abstract ]
  3. Jacobson AM, de Groot M, Samson JA. The effects of psychiatric disorders and symptoms on quality of life in patients with Type I and Type II diabetes mellitus. Quality of Life Research 1997;6(1):11-20. [Abstract ]




5. Diabetes Health Profile (DHP)

Development: The DHP was developed by Meadows et al. (1996) for specific use with Type I diabetes patients, however, a revised version (DHP-18) has been developed for use with Type II diabetics.

Purpose: The purpose of the self-administered DHP is to identify psychosocial dysfunctioning and Quality of Life among insulin dependent and insulin requiring patients.

Useful Facts: Items were based on literature reviews, review of existing instruments, and interviews with Type I diabetes patients and health care professionals. It has three factors and 32 items that are scored on a four-point scale.

VA Relevance: No information has been found regarding the use of this instrument in veteran populations.

Availability: This instrument may be obtained from the developer, Dr. Keith Meadows:
Health and Survey Research Unit
The Applied Statistics Centre
University of Hull
Hull HU6 7RX, UK.
Or via email at k.a.meadows@maths.hull.ac.uk

References:

  1. Meadows K, Steen N, McColl E, Eccles M, Shiels C, Hewison J, Hutchinson A. The diabetes health profile (DHP): A new instrument for assessing the psychosocial profile of insulin requiring patients -- Development and psychometric evaluation. Quality of Life Research 1996;5:242-254. [Abstract ]
  2. Meadows KA, Abrams C, Sandbaek A. Adaptation of the Diabetes Health Profile (DHP-1) for use with patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus: psychometric evaluation and cross-cultural comparison. Diabetic Medicine 2000;17(8):572-80. [Abstract ]
  3. Garratt AM, Schmidt L, Fitzpatrick R. Patient-assessed health outcome measures for diabetes: a structured review. Diabetic Medicine 2002;19(1):1-11. [Abstract ]


[created 20 Apr 2005]