Ten Rules of Foot Care—The Development of a Short Questionnaire for Patients with Diabetes

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire for patients with diabetes to assess the foot self-care. Methods: A validation study was carried out in a sample of 200 patients with diabetes. Item analyses included the assessment of difficulty index, discrimination capacity and the correlation of items with the total score of the questionnaire. Factor analysis was used to test construct validity. Test-retest reliability was assessed with a sample of 31 patients. Criterion validity was determined by comparing the scores of patients with a history of foot ulcers with the scores of patients without this complication. Results: The internal consistency assessed by the Cronbach’s alpha (0.731) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.714, p = 0.001) for all sections were acceptable. Factor analysis revealed three factors: foot care, footwear and foot-damaging behavior, which explained 54.34% of the variance. All items had factor loading of greater than 0.4. Patients with diabetic neuropathy had a lower score after completing the foot care education questionnaire (Mann-Whitney U, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This questionnaire meets the reliability and validity conditions necessary for its application in our patients with diabetes.