Instruments Measuring Self-Care in Children and Young Adults With Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review
Valentina Biagioli, Giuseppina Spitaletta, Valeria Kania, Rachele Mascolo, Orsola Gawronski, Annachiara Liburdi, Giulia Manzi, Michele Salata, Ercole Vellone, Emanuela Tiozzo, Immacolata Dall’Oglio
Abstract
Children and young adults (CYAs) with chronic conditions need to engage in self-care to improve their quality of life. This study aimed to retrieve the literature on instruments to assess self-care in CYAs living with chronic conditions and evaluate the psychometric proprieties of the instruments retrieved. A systematic literature review was conducted on six databases to identify peer-reviewed papers that described or used an evaluation instrument of self-care in CYAs with chronic conditions. Twenty-three articles describing 11 instruments of self-care were identified. Five instruments (45.45%) were developed for specific diseases, while six (54.54%) for various chronic illnesses. Most of the instruments were focused on treatment adherence within self-care maintenance (i.e., behaviors to maintain illness stability), excluding the monitoring of clinical parameters or the management of exacerbations. This review provides an overview of available instruments that measure self-care in CYAs with chronic conditions, which health professionals could use for patient education.