Knee OA is a chronic and multifactorial disease; self-management needs are complex, which requires a multidimensional management plan. There is a need for healthcare providers to provide patients with knowledge of knee OA and how to effectively manage the disease.

Self-management-needs scales are one means of determining the management requirements of an individual patient. There is no suitable instrument available for assessing self-management needs of adult patients with knee OA in Taiwan. This study developed an instrument that could assess the self-management needs of knee OA patients using Orem's self-care theory as a theoretical framework.

This study developed and psychometrically tested a new instrument for measuring adult patients’ self-management needs of knee OA (SMNKOA).

Development of the instrument involved three phases: item generation and scale development; content and face validity of the initial instrument; and evaluation of validity and reliability of the new instrument. Participants (n = 372) were purposively sampled from orthopaedic clinics at medical centres in Taiwan.

The self-care theory guided the development of the 35-item SMNKOA scale. The content validity index was 0.83. Principal components analysis identified a 3-factor solution, accounting for 53.19% of the variance. The divergent validity was –0.67; convergent validity was –0.51. Cronbach's α was 0.95, Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.88, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.95.

The SMNKOA scale can measure and identify the individual self-management needs of knee OA patients. It will help healthcare providers better evaluate strategies that can help these patients cope with this chronic disease.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.