Clinical use of diabetes technologies could have significant impact on management of pediatric type 1 diabetes and could create both beneficial and adverse psychological reactions. However, there was no Turkish scale to describe satisfaction with diabetes technology and explore the psychosocial experiences of children with Type 1 diabetes.
Aim: To investigate the validity and reliability of Turkish adaptation of Diabetes Technology Questionnaire (DTQ).
Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric testing was used in the study. The DTQ was forward and back translated, cross-culturally adapted and validated using international guidelines. Once tested for feasibility and comprehension, a Turkish sample of 209 type 1 diabetic children and adolescents (8-18 years old) using diabetes technology were administered DTQ and Sociodemographic Information Form. Language, content, and surface validity was performed to assess the validity. Test-retest analysis, Cronbach's alpha internal consistency analysis and item total score correlation analyses performed for reliability of the scale.
Mean age and HbA1C of the participants were 12,68±2,79 and 7,83±1,38 respectively. The content validity index was 0,98. Internal consistency was high (α = 0,89) for the overall scale. Test–retest data were obtained from 30 children with Type 1 diabetes, two weeks after the initial assessment. Test–retest reproducibility had acceptable reliability (r=0,76, p˂0,001),with kappa coefficients showing substantial agreement for most items. The average inter-item correlation for the scale was 0.88.
This study showed that DTQ was conceptually equivalent to the original and similarly valid and reliable measure for Turkish speaking population.