Janet LP, LeAnne MH
Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of using the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) with people with Diabetes Mellitus (DM). The CIQ measures levels of participation and frequency of engagement in activities. Methods: A convenience sample of 97 women participated in the study in three groups (DM=32; Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)=29; Healthy Controls=36). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, Keitel Functional Test, the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), the Dartmouth Primary Care Cooperative Information Project (COOP), and the CIQ. Results: The groups were similar in age, disease duration, education, and marital status. The DM group had significantly better joint motion compared to the RA group. For all CIQ domains and the CIQ Total, the scores of the DM group were each significantly higher than the RA group and similar to the HC group. A similar trend was found for the other measures of participation, the HAQ and COOP Total. In the DM group, the correlations between the CIQ Social, CIQ Productivity, CIQ Total and the HAQ and COOP were moderate to good. There were no significant correlations between the CIQ Home and the HAQ and COOP Total. Conclusion: The findings provide partial support for known-groups validity of the CIQ as there were significant differences in CIQ scores between individuals with DM and RA, two very different chronic diseases. However, there were no differences between the DM and HC groups. Concurrent validity in people with DM was established by the correlations between the CIQ Social, CIQ Productivity, and CIQ Total and the HAQ and COOP with people with DM. However, larger studies are needed to support these findings.