Oral Presentation Australian Diabetes Society and the Australian Diabetes Educators Association Annual Scientific Meeting 2016

Psychometric Validation of the Novel Glucose Monitoring Experiences Questionnaire (GME-Q) among Adults with Type 1 Diabetes (#163)

Jane Speight 1 2 3 , Elizabeth Holmes-Truscott 1 2 , Stuart Little 4 , James AM Shaw 4
  1. The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes, Diabetes Victoria, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
  2. School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Vic, Australia
  3. AHP Research, Hornchurch, Essex, UK
  4. Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

The Glucose Monitoring Experiences Questionnaire (GME-Q) was designed to elicit users’ evaluations of their current glucose monitoring method (including finger prick and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices). We aimed to conduct psychometric analyses of the GME-Q among adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Item development was informed by literature review as well as exploratory and cognitive debriefing interviews with 17 adults (9 women) with T1D, aged (mean±SD) 48±10 years. A conceptual framework was proposed including three potential domains (effectiveness, convenience, intrusiveness of monitoring method) assessed with 25 items (9 negatively worded), and a single, overview item asking about the extent to which ‘my current method of monitoring suits me well’.

The GME-Q was included in the ‘YourSAY: Glucose Monitoring’ Australian online survey. A total of 592 eligible adults (aged ≥18 years) with T1D, not currently using CGM, participated: 64% women, mean±SD age 44±15 years, diabetes duration 22±14 years, 42% using insulin pump therapy, median (IQR) number of glucose checks on a typical day was 6 (4,7).

Complete GME-Q data were available for 578 (98%) participants, suggesting acceptability of the questionnaire. After deletion of 3 redundant items, principal components analysis supported a 22-item questionnaire with three domains (Effectiveness (9 items); Intrusiveness (6 items); Convenience (7 items)), accounting for 55% of variance, and displaying good internal consistency reliability (α=0.83-0.88). A single factor structure accounted for 36% of variance (α=0.91). The domains correlated (r=0.44-0.66, p<0.001) with the single, overview item, together explaining 51% of the total variance in the single item score.

Psychometric validation supports the 22-item GME-Q, which provides an acceptable, valid and reliable measure of experiences of current method of glucose monitoring. Future research needs to determine the predictive validity of the GME-Q and explore psychometric properties among adults using CGM devices.

The YourSAY study was funded by Abbott Diabetes Care.