A valid self-help tool to measure the role of spousal support in the care of persons with diabetes mellitus

Objective Family members, especially the spouse, could reinforce or discourage lifestyle/behavioral change to manage one’s diabetes. This study was done to describe and validate a scale that measured the spouse’s support specific to the management of diabetes. Method A questionnaire that embodies various domains of self-care was developed and administered to both the patient and their spouse. The total score was used to validate the scale, using glycemic control (HbA1c) as the criterion. Various measures of validity with their respective 95% CI were calculated. Results There were 249 eligible couples. Mean age of those with diabetes was 57.4 ± 11.3 years. Duration of diabetes ranged from less than a year to 40 years, with a mean duration of 12.0 ± 8.3 years. The spousal support score was negatively correlated to HbA1c ( r = − 0.25, p < 0.0001) and had a significant discriminatory power (AUC: 0.62 (0.55–0.69)) based on ROC curve. Those who scored greater than 13 were considered to be supportive based on Youden’s Index J. Using this cut-off, the likelihood ratio was significantly high [LR + (95% CI): 1.7 (1.4–2.2)] and those who had poor support from their spouses had 2.4 times the odds of having uncontrolled diabetes compared to those with good spousal support [OR (95% CI):2.4 (1.3–4.5)], irrespective of other factors. The internal consistency of the questions used for this multidimensional scale was appropriately low (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.67). Self-care was constant across groups. Conclusion Being clearly associated with glycemic control, the Spousal Support Scale can be used in the clinic for health education and as a self-assessment tool by the couple.