Purpose: To translate and examine the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities.
Design: An instrument translation and validation study.
Settings: A total of 243 participants (33 first sample and 210 second sample) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited from four primary health care centers in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: The study was guided by the World Health Organization guidelines for translation and validation of instrument.
Results: Translation indicators showed satisfactory outcomes for each included process in the forward-translation, an expert panel, and back-translation stages. Reliability and validity outcomes were as follows: test-retest, r = .912 and p < .001; split-half = .9; and Cronbach's alpha (α) = .76. The alpha scores for the subscales were as follows: diet, .89; exercise, .83; blood glucose testing, .92; and foot care, .77. Principal component analysis revealed the presence of four components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0, explaining 34.4, 16.4, 15.4, and 11.2% of the variance in everyday practices for these items, respectively (accumulated = 77.1%).
Conclusions: The translation and validation processes revealed acceptable psychometric properties. The instrument could evaluate diabetes self-care in Saudi Arabia and has the potential to be used in other Arabic-speaking populations.
Keywords: Arabic; diabetes; self-care; translation.
© The Author(s) 2014.