The development of health literacy scale for acute complications of diabetes for children with type 1 diabetes (8-12 years)

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a Health Literacy Scale for Acute Complications of Diabetes for Children with Type 1 Diabetes (8-12 years of age) and to test the instrument in terms of its psychometric properties. Methods: The study is of methodological design and was conducted with 222 children, aged 8 to 12 years, with type 1 diabetes who were registered at a training and research hospital's diabetes outpatient clinic. The item pool of the study consisted of 22 statements. Ten experts were asked to review the scale, and when content validity was confirmed, the scale items were amended until the draft scale had 22 items. The children themselves completed the "Diagnostic Form for Children with Diabetes" and "Health Literacy Scale for Acute Complications of Type 1 Diabetes for Children (8-12 years)" questionnaire between June 2021 and October 2022. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), item-total correlation, and split-half reliability testing were employed for psychometric properties. Results: The scale comprised 19 items and 3 factors containing information on acute complications of diabetes and health literacy. Conclusion: A valid and accurate instrument was developed to measure the acute complications of diabetes in children and their health literacy. As such, the scale can be used as a practical tool in evaluating the understanding and implementation skills of children with Type 1 diabetes regarding the management of acute complications of the disease and in assessing their health literacy. (c) 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.