Does the Partners in Health scale allow meaningful comparisons of chronic condition self-management between men and women? Testing measurement invariance.

Aims To determine if the Partners in Health scale, pertinent to assessing patient chronic condition self-management, operates equivalently for men and women. Background There are distinct gender-based differences in self-management behaviours and health perceptions. This may introduce non-invariance in self-report measures. Testing of measurement invariance is a recommended practice in nursing science to ensure robust metrics. Design A representative cross-sectional population survey in South Australian. Method In 2014, 940 people responded to the South Australian Health Omnibus Survey, a battery of health-related questions. MI and estimation of heterogeneity was tested using Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis. Results Findings showed self-management constructs were interpreted equivalently between men and women. Observed population heterogeneity associated lower education levels with poorer illness and treatment knowledge, smokers with poorer treatment partnerships and mental health problems with lower coping capacity. Conclusion Approximate measurement invariance was achieved between men and women for Partners in Health scale. Impact There is a lack of well-validated generic instruments, including investigation into gender variability, for measuring chronic condition self-management behaviours. Lower education levels were found to connect with poorer knowledge of health condition and treatment. Mental health problems attenuated ability to cope with the effect of the condition. Findings can facilitate the development of better tailored interventions for self-management of patients' chronic condition/s.