Psychometric Validation of the Arabic Version of the Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory for Patients With Chronic Conditions

Background and Purpose: Self-care, involving symptom management, treatment adherence, and lifestyle changes, is crucial for managing chronic conditions and enhancing patient quality of life. The Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory (SC-CII), grounded in the middle-range theory of self-care, has been validated in various languages but not in Arabic. Thus, this study aimed to translate the SC-CII into Arabic (SC-CII-Ar) and assess its psychometric properties among Arab patients with chronic conditions. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in three hospitals located in Oman, Jordan, and Egypt. The sample included patients with chronic diseases, recruited conveniently. The SC-CII was translated following the World Health Organization guidelines, involving initial translation, synthesis, back translation, expert committee review, and pretesting. The psychometric evaluation included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity assessed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The sample comprised 37.5% participants from Egypt, 37.5% from Jordan, and 25% from Oman, with a mean age of 47.6 years (SD = 15.5), and majority were more females (54.8%). CFA confirmed the two-dimensional structure of the Self-Care Maintenance and Management scales and the unidimensional structure of the Self-Care Monitoring scale. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's coefficient ? [alpha] of >.80 for all scales). Test-retest reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient of >0.90 for all scales). Conclusions: The SC-CII-Ar is a reliable and valid tool for assessing self-care behaviors among Arabic-speaking patients with chronic diseases. It facilitates culturally sensitive research and practice, promoting effective self-care, and potentially improving health outcomes in the Arab world.