How to Measure Foot Self-Care? A Methodological Review of Instruments

Abstract

Foot self-care is an important element of caring for and promoting foot health. However, little is known about the validity and reliability of existing foot self-care instruments. The purpose of this review is to describe and analyze the focus, content, and psychometric evidence of existing instruments for measuring foot self-care. A methodological review of three international scientific databases—Medline (PubMed), CINAHL (Ebsco), and Embase—was conducted in May 2022. The search produced 3520 hits, of which 53 studies were included in the final analysis based on a two-phase selection process. A total of 31 instruments were identified, of which six were observed to have been used more than once. Subsequently, the methodological quality of these six instruments was evaluated. It is noted that although a considerable variety of instruments are used in measuring foot self-care, only a small proportion are used consistently. In general, the psychometric testing instruments seem to primarily focus on analyzing content validity and homogeneity. In the future, comprehensive testing of instrument psychometrics could enhance the cumulative evidence of the methodological quality of these instruments. Furthermore, researchers and clinicians can use the information in this review to make informed choices when selecting an instrument for their purposes.