Psychometric testing of the cross-culturally adapted Thai version of the Self-Care Self-Efficacy Scale version 3.0 in individuals with chronic illnesses.

The sample came from convenience sampling in southern Thailand, so it may not represent other regions, settings, or cultures. Hypertension and diabetes were common in the sample, while cancer and chronic kidney disease were less common, so the scale's performance may not be equal across all chronic illnesses. The study excluded patients discharged from hospital in the previous three months and hospitalized patients, so it says little about those groups. Data were collected by trained nurses, but inter-rater reliability was not tested, so consistency between data collectors is unknown. Test-retest reliability was based on 60 participants, fewer than the main sample. The paper reports scale properties, not effects on self-care behaviour, self-efficacy, or health outcomes.

Walailak University funded the original study (grant WU65240). The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. They reported using ChatGPT to improve language and readability, then reviewed and edited the content.

Do not conclude that giving patients this scale will improve self-care or health outcomes. The study tested whether the Thai scale measures self-care confidence well, not whether an intervention based on the scale works.