Psychometric Evaluation of the Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale-Korean in People With Diabetes

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS-K).

Methods

A cross-sectional design was used with 130 adults with type 2 diabetes taking medications from an outpatient clinic at a university hospital in Korea. Structured questionnaires were used for psychometric evaluation. The SEAMS-K validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis, and reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient. The original 13-item SEAMS was forward-translated and back-translated to ensure the translation equivalence of the SEAMS-K.

Results

Factor analysis for structural validity identified 3 dimensions of the SEAMS-K, explaining 71.2% of the total variance. The SEAMS-K showed significant associations with refilling and taking medication (r = −.58, P < .001), depressive symptoms (r = −.27, P = .002), and diabetes self-efficacy (r = .38, P < .001), thus, validating the construct validity hypotheses. As evidence of known groups’ validity, there was a significant association between the SEAMS-K score according to A1C level (P = .042). The intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was .91, and the alpha for internal consistency reliability was .92.

Conclusions

These results suggest that the SEAMS-K may be used clinically to assess the self-efficacy of appropriate medication use among Korean patients with type 2 diabetes.