Evaluation on quality of life instrument for patients with diabetes mellitus

Objective To evaluate a self-designed quality of life instrument(test version)for chronic diseases-diabetes mellitus(QLICD-DM).Methods The quality of life among 159 type II diabetes mellitus inpatients was measured with QLICD-DM at three times:on the first and second day of the hospitalization,and on the day of discharge form the hospital.The validity,reliability and responsiveness of the QLICD-DM were evaluated.Results The Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability in all domains was greater than 0.7.Test-retest reliability in all domains was greater than 0.9.All of the correlation coefficient between each item and its facet or domain were greater than the correlation coefficient with other facets or domains.Exploratory factor analyses showed that the first principal component representing the aspects of psychological functioning explained 33.919% of the variance and the second principal component representing the aspects of the diabetic complication explained 12.006% of the variance.The differences before and after the treatment in all domains including physical functioning,psychological functioning,social functioning,special module domain,and total score of the instrument had statistical significance(P<0.01)with the standardized responsive mean(SRM)of 0.691,0.638,0.428,1.148,and 1.223.Conclusion The QLICD-DM is good in reliability,validity,and responsiveness and suitable to serve as a quality of life measurement instrument for patients with diabetes mellitus in China.