Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2008 | Research
Development and validation of the WEll-being and Satisfaction of CAREgivers of Children with Diabetes Questionnaire (WE-CARE)
Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes | Issue 1/2008
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Background
This study was designed to develop a diabetes-specific questionnaire on parents' quality of life and satisfaction with their child's diabetes treatment, the WE ll-being and Satisfaction of CARE givers of Children with Diabetes Questionnaire, and to conduct psychometric validation of the WE-CARE.
Methods
Parents of 116 children aged 6 to 11 years were enrolled in the United States. Children had type 1 diabetes mellitus for > 1 year, had been treated with subcutaneous insulin for ≥ 2 months, and had a recent glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) measurement. Recruiting clinicians provided clinical information on the children. Over a two-week period, parents completed WE-CARE (initial 68 items) and two other questionnaires (the 36-item Short Form of the Medical Outcomes Study and the 50-item Child Health Questionnaire-Parent Form) twice.
Results
A literature review and one-on-one interview with caregivers and pediatricians led to the development of a draft questionnaire consisting of 68 items. Factor analysis suggested retention of 37 of the 68 initial items grouped into four multi-item scales (Psychosocial Well-being, Ease of Insulin Use, Treatment Satisfaction, and Acceptance of Insulin Administration as well as a Total Score). The four multi-item domains of WE-CARE were found to be psychometrically robust – they had negligible floor and ceiling effects, excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability, high item-discriminant validity and good concurrent, divergent, known-group and clinical validity. Moderate interscale correlations among the four WE-CARE domains indicated that the concepts they measure were related but distinct.
Conclusion
These data suggest that WE-CARE provides a reliable and valid measure of parents' well-being and treatment satisfaction related to their child's diabetes. While these results show promise, additional validation of WE-CARE is warranted.