Development and validation of a questionnaire to evaluate patient satisfaction with diabetes disease management

OBJECTIVE - To develop a reliable and valid questionnaire to measure patient satisfaction with diabetes disease management programs. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Questions related to structure, process, and outcomes were categorized into 14 domains defining the essential elements of diabetes disease management. Health professionals confirmed the content validity face validity was established by a patient focus group. The questionnaire was mailed to 711 patients with diabetes who participated in a disease management program. To reduce the number of questionnaire items, a principal components analysis was performed using a varimax rotation. The Scree test was used to select significant components. To further assess reliability and validity, Cronbach's α and product-moment correlations were calculated for components having ≥3 items with loadings >0.50. RESULTS - The validated 73-item mailed satisfaction survey had a 34.1% response rate. Principal components analysis yielded 13 components with eigenvalues >1.0. The Scree test proposed a 6- component solution (39 items), which explained 59% of the total variation. Internal consistency reliabilities computed for the first 6 components (α = 0.79-0.95) were acceptable. CONCLUSIONS - The final questionnaire, the Diabetes Management Evaluation Tool (DMET), was designed to assess patient satisfaction with diabetes disease management programs. Although more extensive testing of the questionnaire is appropriate, preliminary reliability and validity of the DMET has been demonstrated.