WASME Scale Development

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The Working Alliance in Self-Management Education (WASME) Scale Development.

  • IRAS ID

    169783

  • Contact name

    Lynsey Cobane

  • Contact email

    lc316@le.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 2 months, 0 days

  • Research summary

    Working Alliance in Self-Management Education (WASME) Scale Development.

    Self-management education programs involve providing information and increasing understanding of specific long term conditions in order to improve patient’s ability to manage their own condition. These programs have been increasingly used in the UK and studies have shown that people with diseases such as diabetes, heart-disease and arthritis benefit from these programs. Whilst evidence of the positive impact of self-management education is growing, it is unclear what makes a self-management program effective. This makes it difficult to replicate programs so that patients are getting the best possible program and associated benefits.

    One factor that may contribute to the usefulness of a self-management education program is the relationship between the person with the long term condition and the educator leading the course. Other studies have shown that the relationship between a patient and health care professionals is important and is significantly related to the patients’ outcomes. Currently, little is known about the importance of the relationship between the person with a long term condition and the educator in self-management education programs.

    The current project will develop a new questionnaire to investigate the importance of this relationship in self-management education. This is necessary as at the moment no questionnaire exists that has been designed to use in this specific situation. This study will involve asking staff members and people who have previously attended a self-management program to help develop the questionnaire to make sure it is clear and relevant to people attending the course. Once the questionnaire has been formed people attending a diabetes self-management education course will be invited to complete pilot questions related to their relationship with the educators leading the course. The researcher will then analyse the questions in order to refine the questionnaire and produce the final scale.

  • REC name

    London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    15/LO/0336

  • Date of REC Opinion

    17 Mar 2015

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion