Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS): Measuring Emotional Burden
The Diabetes Distress Scale measures the emotional burden of managing diabetes. This self-report tool helps clinicians identify specific worries to improve patient support and daily care.
Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS)
The Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) is a 17-item survey measuring the emotional load of living with diabetes. It assesses worries about daily regimens, doctor interactions, and interpersonal issues. This tool helps clinicians spot specific distress sources, ensuring patients receive the right support for their needs.
Category
Disease
Source
What is Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS)
The Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) is a trusted tool for checking the emotional load of living with diabetes. It helps clinicians spot specific struggles. This 17-item survey looks closely at the hidden worries that come with managing blood sugar daily. It moves past general depression to find distinct diabetes-specific issues. Patients rate their feelings on a six-point scale across four main areas. These cover emotional burden and doctor worries plus regimen stress and interpersonal problems. It pinpoints exactly where a person feels stuck or overwhelmed by their condition. Doctors and nurses use it to start better chats about mental health. It is quick to finish and score so it fits easily into busy clinic visits. By highlighting high-stress zones, care teams can tweak support plans to help patients cope better with the daily grind of chronic care management.
The Diabetes Distress Scale can be scored using two main approaches: a total distress score and four specific subscale scores. 1. Total Score: You sum up the ratings for all 17 items and divide by 17 to find the mean. This gives an overall picture of the patient's emotional load. 2. Subscale Scores: Calculate the mean for domains like emotional burden or physician related distress. For both methods, a mean score of 3 or higher flags high distress, while 2 to 2.9 shows moderate struggles worth watching. It is a handy way to spot who needs extra support.
Advantages
Develops personalised strategies based on assessment data.
Enables precise identification of patient health status.
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Promotes active participation in healthcare assessment.
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Measures healthcare intervention results systematically.
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