BACKGROUND: Self-care is increasingly recognized as the foundation of person-centered healthcare and a key driver for simultaneously improving population health outcomes and reducing healthcare expenditures. While the Self-Care Inventory (SCI) has been validated in several languages, Japan lacks a standardized instrument for assessing self-care in the general adult population. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the SCI reflects culturally specific self-care behaviors and retains its psychological measurement properties in non-Western contexts. Addressing both aspects, this study aimed to evaluate the Japanese version of the SCI (JSCI) in terms of its psychometric properties and its association with concrete health behaviors. METHODS: We adapted the JSCI following COSMIN guidelines using forward/backward translation, expert review, and cognitive debriefing. Psychometric evaluation was based on two samples: a nationwide web-based survey (n = 504) and a community-based paper survey (n = 75). Structural validity was examined via CFA; internal consistency via Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega; and test-retest reliability via ICCs. Convergent and criterion validity were assessed through correlations with relevant psychological constructs. Measurement invariance and DIF across modes were tested, and associations with five external self-care behaviors were evaluated using AUC. RESULTS: The hypothesized three-factor structure of the JSCI was supported across both administration modes (CFI = 0.926-0.942; SRMR < 0.06), although some subscales had elevated RMSEA. Internal consistency was acceptable to high (α = 0.75-0.85; ω = 0.81-0.92). ICCs indicated moderate to good temporal stability. JSCI scores correlated with self-care efficacy and other related constructs, supporting convergent and criterion validity. Configural invariance was confirmed, and no significant DIF was detected across modes. JSCI scores modestly discriminated individuals engaging in concrete self-care behaviors such as physical activity, strength training, Helicobacter pylori testing, and having a regular primary or dental care provider (AUCs = 0.62-0.80). CONCLUSIONS The JSCI demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and structural validity across diverse research settings. Its observed associations with a range of meaningful self-care behaviors support the scale's ecological and practical relevance in the Japanese context. The JSCI may serve as a reliable tool for evaluating and promoting self-care in both research and population health initiatives.
Humans ; Japan ; Self Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Psychometrics ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult ; Aged ; Health Behavior ; Translations ; East Asian People

Introduction: Dental caries is a preventable chronic disease whereby identification of risk factors will facilitate preventive measures. This study aims to determine the level of oral health literacy (OHL), self-care practices (SCP), salivary parameters and ascertain its assocation with caries status amongst the undergraduates in IMU University. Methods: Levels of OHL (Knowledge-OHL, dental services utilisation, and label reading habit) and SCP were assessed through a self-administered questionnaire. Chairside saliva kits were used to measure the salivary parameters whilst clinical examination was performed to assess caries status. Independent T-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare differences between sex and courses respectively for measures of interest (OHL, SCP, salivary parameters, and caries status) whereas bivariate correlation with Pearsons’s coefficient was performed to examine their association with caries status. Results: The participants (n=132) had a mean Knowledge-OHL score of 23.75±8.09 with no significant difference between sex (females, 24.01±8.51; males, 23.48±7.69; p=0.15). Dentistry students had significantly higher Knowledge-OHL score than students of all other courses (p=0.01). The mean SCP score was 20.19±3.16 whereas mean DMFT was 2.32 ±3.14. All participants had healthy saliva parameters. Caries status was significantly correlated with Knowledge-OHL score (p=0.02, r=-0.18), dental services utilisation (p=0.04, r=-0.15) but not with label reading habit (p=0.78, r=0.03), SCP (p=0.30, r=-0.05) and all salivary parameters. Conclusion Knowledge-OHL and oral health services utilisation are significantly associated with oral health status
Dental Caries ; Health Literacy ; Oral Health ; Saliva ; Self Care

INTRODUCTION: The study objective was to determine the levels of self-care and health literacy (HL) and their associations among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted in a public primary care setting in Singapore. A total of 289 participants aged 21-80 years with hypertension were recruited. Self-care profiles were measured using the Hypertension Self-Care Profile (HTN-SCP; range 0-240, domain range 0-80). Health literacy was measured using the Short-Form Health Literacy Scale (HLS-SF12; range 0-50, limited literacy ≤33). RESULTS: The mean self-care score was 182.7 (standard deviation [SD] 23.2). The median HL score was 34.7 (interquartile range [IQR] 31.9-40.3), and 31.1% of participants had limited HL. Self-care was not associated with age, CKD status, household income and education, but was associated with gender and HL score. In the final regression model, lower HL scores (adjusted β = 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7 to 1.36, P < 0.001) and male gender (adjusted β = -5.29, 95% CI -10.56 to -0.03, P = 0.049) were associated with lower self-care scores. The HL scores were associated with self-care domains of self-efficacy (HL: β = 0.30, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.42, P < 0.001), motivation (HL: β = 0.40, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.53, P < 0.001) and behaviour (HL: β = 0.38, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.50, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Thirty-one percent of the participants had limited HL. Self-care was not associated with age, race, CKD status, household income or education. Male gender and limited HL were associated with lower self-care. Self-care was associated with self-efficacy, motivation and behaviour. Future research could focus on more targeted approaches to improve self-care and HL among patients with CKD.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Health Literacy ; Middle Aged ; Self Care ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Aged ; Adult ; Primary Health Care ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/therapy* ; Singapore ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Aged, 80 and over ; Young Adult ; Hypertension/therapy*

INTRODUCTION: The rising rate of adolescent suicide, and the burden of self-harm and mental health disorders, pose significant threats to Singapore's future health outcomes and human potential. This study sought to examine the risk profile and healthcare utilisation patterns of Singaporean adolescents who presented to the emergency department (ED) for suicidal or self-harm behaviour. METHOD: A retrospective review of medical records for patients aged 10 to 19 years who visited Singapore's KK Women's and Children's Hospital ED for suicidal or self-harm attempts from January to December 2021 was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 221 patients were identified, with a predominance of female patients (85.5%) over males (14.5%). The mean age was 14.2 ± 1.4 years. Intentional drug overdose (52.0%) was the most commonly used method. Significantly more females presented for intentional paracetamol overdose (46.6% versus [vs] 28.1%, P=0.049), whereas jumping from a height was more common among males (18.8% vs 5.8%, P=0.022). The most frequently observed mental health challenges were stress-related and emotional coping difficulties (50.7%), followed by mood and anxiety symptoms (53.4%). A history of self-harm and suicidal behaviours were the most common psychosocial risk factors. Within the year prior to their ED presentation, 15.4% had accessed healthcare services for mild medical ailments, 19.5% for medically unexplained symptoms, and 17.2% for previous self-harm or suicide attempts. CONCLUSION Most cases involved psychosocial and emotional regulation difficulties, some of which displayed sex-specific patterns, rather than complex psychiatric disorders. The identified predictive factors can help inform Singapore's National Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, to guide targeted and transdiagnostic interventions in schools and community settings.
Humans ; Adolescent ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Female ; Male ; Suicide, Attempted/psychology* ; Emergency Service, Hospital/statistics & numerical data* ; Self-Injurious Behavior/psychology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Child ; Young Adult ; Drug Overdose/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Acetaminophen/poisoning* ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Sex Factors

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of self-management ability in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to analyze the related factors affecting the self-management ability of SLE patients. METHODS: A total of 180 SLE patients who were selected from the outpatient department and ward of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of a Tertiary Hospital in Beijing from January 2024 to March 2024. General information questionnaire, SLE self-management ability assessment scale, general self-efficacy scale (GSES) and family concern index questionnaire (APGAR) were used for questionnaire investigation, so as to investigate the current status and related influencing factors of self-management ability in patients with SLE. RESULTS: A total of 170 questionnaires were effectively collected, and the total score of self-management ability was (90.94±14.26) points, of which 103 patients were 89-110 points, accounting for 60.6%; 60 patients were 67-88 points, accounting for 35.3%; 7 patients were 0-66 points, accounting for 4.1%; The results of univariate analysis showed that personal monthly income, follow-up frequency, family caring index, self-efficacy and SLE self-management ability score had statistical significance (P < 0.05). Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that family caring index, self-efficacy scores were positively correlated with the scores of various dimensions and the total score of SLE self-management scores (P < 0.001). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that family caring index (OR=1.503, 95%CI=1.186-1.906), self-efficacy (OR=1.103, 95%CI=1.038-1.172), personal monthly income of 5 000-8 000 yuan/month (OR=0.120, 95%CI=0.022-0.645) and 1-2 weeks return frequency (OR=0.044, 95%CI=0.003-0.575) were significant influencing factors for SLE patients' self-management ability. CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that patients with SLE have a good level of self-management ability. In the process of chronic disease management, medical staff should formulate detailed and layered intervention measures to further improve self-management ability with SLE patients, and at the same time, help SLE patients establish good family caring index and patient self-efficacy, which is conducive to improving self-management ability of SLE patients, so as to effectively promote disease management and improve the quality of life.
Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/psychology* ; Self-Management ; Self Efficacy ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Female ; Male ; Income ; Self Care

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of self-efficacy between self-management ability and self-management behavior and its differences among patients with different disease courses through mediation tests. METHODS: In the study, 489 patients with type 2 diabetes who attended the endocrinology departments of four hospitals in Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from July to September 2022 were enrolled as the study population. They were investigated by General Information Questionnaire, Diabetes Self-Management Scale, Chinese version of Diabetes Empowerment Simplified Scale, and Diabetes Self-Efficacy Scale. Mediation analyses were performed using the linear regression model, Sobel test, and Bootstrap test in the software Stata version 15.0 and divided the patients into different disease course groups for subgroup analysis according to whether the disease course was > 5 years. RESULTS: In this study, the score of self-management behavior in the patients with type 2 diabetes was 6.16±1.41, the score of self-management ability was 3.99±0.74, and the score of self-efficacy was 7.05±1.90. The results of the study showed that self-efficacy was positively correlated with self-management ability (r=0.33) as well as self-management behavior (r=0.47) in the patients with type 2 diabetes (P < 0.01). The mediating effect of self-efficacy accounted for 38.28% of the total effect of self-management ability on self-management behaviors and was higher in the behaviors of blood glucose monitoring (43.45%) and diet control (52.63%). The mediating effect of self-efficacy accounted for approximately 40.99% of the total effect for the patients with disease course ≤ 5 years, while for the patients with disease course > 5 years, the mediating effect accounted for 39.20% of the total effect. CONCLUSION Self-efficacy enhanced the effect of self-management ability on the behavior of the patients with type 2 diabetes, and this positive effect was more significant for the patients with shorter disease course. Targeted health education should be carried out to enhance patients' self-efficacy and self-management ability according to their disease characteristics, to stimulate their inner action, to promote the development of their self-management behaviors, and to form a more stable and long-term mechanism for disease management.
Humans ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/therapy* ; Self Efficacy ; Self-Management ; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring ; Blood Glucose ; Self Care

Lack of self-care has strongly been associated with stress and burnout among nurse educators. It has long been a silent battle as they struggle with academia, clinical practice, and research. Challenges identified that contribute to lack of self-care are heavy workloads, limited facilities for instruction, lack of support for professional advancement, and limited self-care facilities. In support of the Alma Ata declaration in empowering and assisting individuals to obtain knowledge, skills, and resources to preserve health, this paper advocates the need to foster and establish a self-care culture for nurse educators in the Philippines through the Reflect, Recharge, Revive Program. The program framework of Reflect through self-assessment and self-reflection, Recharge through self-care education and training, and Revive for sustainability are collected from various programs already used by some nursing schools that have been proven effective in their respective organizations. Its integration into the current policies and guidelines, including policy frameworks of nursing institutions, will help address stress and burnout associated with a lack of self-care among nurse educators. As a healthy policy, it is believed to positively affect nursing education, especially in decreasing faculty turnover and increasing job performance and self-fulfillment in teaching.
Self Care ; Schools, Nursing ; Burnout, Psychological ; Policy

Humans ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/therapy* ; Self Care ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/complications*

Diabetes is one of the most important non-communicable chronic diseases. Although a large amount of clinical evidence on the effectiveness of diabetes prevention and treatment interventions has been established, the current quality of care and results are still insufficient. Implementation Research can bridge the gap between research and practice. Implementation Research on diabetes management can clarify what is effective and what is ineffective in management, and promote the transformation of complex, multi-component interventions into medical practice faster and more effectively. This paper reviews the main research contents and application of implementation research of diabetes management at home and abroad, aiming to provide reference for related research and promote the application of implementation research in diabetes management in China.
Humans ; Self Care/methods* ; China ; Diabetes Mellitus/prevention & control*

Diabetes is one of the most important non-communicable chronic diseases. Although a large amount of clinical evidence on the effectiveness of diabetes prevention and treatment interventions has been established, the current quality of care and results are still insufficient. Implementation Research can bridge the gap between research and practice. Implementation Research on diabetes management can clarify what is effective and what is ineffective in management, and promote the transformation of complex, multi-component interventions into medical practice faster and more effectively. This paper reviews the main research contents and application of implementation research of diabetes management at home and abroad, aiming to provide reference for related research and promote the application of implementation research in diabetes management in China.
Humans ; Self Care/methods* ; China ; Diabetes Mellitus/prevention & control*