Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the conceptual congruency of scores from the Mastery of Stress Instrument (MSI) with qualitative data in an effort to identify patients for whom a specific educational intervention was sufficient.
Methods: A convenience sample of patients with diverse age and educational backgrounds was recruited from those who registered for a 4-session diabetes educational experience as new or refresher patients. All 57 patients completed the MSI before and after diabetes educational experiences, and half participated in before and after audiotaped interviews. All patients responded to a query about their perceptions of the educational experience. MSI scores were analyzed by demographic variables as well as compared to qualitative interviews for greater insights and explanation.
Results: Consistency was noted between the MSI scores and the information revealed in the interviews. Additional support for the use of the MSI to identify patients at risk and in need of additional educational interventions was realized.
Conclusions: Further research to explore the use of the MSI with persons with different educational experiences and to standardize the MSI scores for adult persons taking diabetes or other patient education classes is needed before generalization can be achieved.