Self-care is an important nursing-sensitive outcome. Reliable and valid measures are needed for therapeutic self-care assessment that may inform the development and evaluation of individualized nursing interventions co-created with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) adults. The therapeutic self-care scale European Portuguese version (TSCS-EPV) is a validated generic measure that may be used to assess self-care in T2DM adults.
Aim: To examine the psychometric properties of the TSCS-EP version in T2DM adults, in primary health care.
Methods: A cross-sectional pilot study in a convenience sample of 80 adults with T2DM from two primary health care centers in Portugal was conducted. Individuals completed the Portuguese version of the TSC scale.
Results: A three-factor solution emerged from the principal component analysis: "Recognizing and managing signs and symptoms"; "Managing changes in health condition" and "Managing medication", explaining 75% of the total variance. Total scale Cronbach's alpha was 0.884 and for the three factors ranged from 0.808 to 0.954.
Conclusion: the therapeutic self-care scale European Portuguese version is a promising scale for assessing therapeutic self-care abilities in adults with T2DM in primary care settings. More consistent results on its validity and reliability are needed for it to be used in the country.
Keywords: psychometric properties; self-care; therapeutic self-care scale; type 2 diabetes mellitus.