Self-management behavior in patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional survey in western urban China

Cultural issues and other factors that affect self-management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) by Chinese immigrants in Australia

AIMS

To investigate the influence of cultural and other factors on diabetes self-management behaviors among Australian Chinese immigrants with T2D.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted between June and October 2015. The questionnaire comprised several validated scales examining aspects of self-management practice including medication adherence, acculturation and demographics. Participants were recruited from the community and Diabetes Center of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH), Sydney, Australia.

RESULTS

Of the 139 participants, a majority were female, from mainland China, with high school level education and a mean age of 64 (SD±12) years. Participants were found to have poor self-management practices generally but moderate medication adherence. 13.7% of participants reported incorporating TCM into their diabetes treatment and 24% reported a cultural shame surrounding a diabetes diagnosis. Higher levels of acculturation predicted better medication adherence, whereas stronger beliefs in TCM predicted poorer medication adherence. Gender, education level and duration of diabetes were also predictors of diabetes self-management behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided insight into cultural influences on diabetes self-management and medication taking among Chinese immigrants in Australia. Health care providers should take these into account in delivering culturally sensitive care and advice to achieve better health outcomes.

Diabetes related knowledge, self-care behaviours and adherence to medications among diabetic patients in Southwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

The provision of health education involving self-care and good adherence to medications has been acknowledged to be a cost effective strategy for improving quality of life of diabetes patients. We assessed levels of knowledge about type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), self-care behaviours and adherence to medication among DM patients.

METHODS

A facility based cross-sectional survey of 325 adults with T2DM patients attending Jimma University Teaching Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia was conducted. We used diabetes Knowledge Test, Expanded Version of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities and Morisky 8-Item medication adherence as tools to measure diabetic knowledge, self-care behaviours and adherence to medications respectively. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to assess the independent predictors of diabetes knowledge and adherence to medications. The binary logistic regression was applied for self-care behaviours.

RESULTS

309 respondents were included in the survey. Of all the respondents, 44.9 %, 20.1 % and 34.9 % had low, medium and high level diabetic knowledge respectively. High level of diabetic knowledge was the reference group. Being illiterate (AOR = 3.1, 95%CI: 1.03-9.3), having BMI <18 kg/m(2) (AOR = 6.4, 95%CI: 1.2-34.9) and duration of DM < 5 years (AOR = 4.2, 95%CI: 1.9-9.5) were significantly associated with low level of diabetic knowledge. T2DM patients who practiced good self-care (AOR = 0.5, 95%CI: 0.3-0.9) were less likely to have low knowledge. Duration of DM < 5 years (AOR = 9.8, 95%CI: 3.2-30.2) was significantly associated with medium level of diabetic knowledge. 157(50.8 %) patients had poor self-care behaviour and this was associated with level of education and adherence to medication. The proportions of patients with low, medium and high adherence to medication were 24.9 %, 37.9 % and 37.2 % respectively. Being a merchant, having medium level of diabetic knowledge and having good glycemic control level were associated with low adherence to medications.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant number of DM patients had low level of knowledge, poor self-care behaviours and low level of adherence to medications. These findings call for the need of integrated interventional management on diabetic knowledge, self-care behaviours and adherence to medications. To ensure effective T2DM management, a strategic approach that improves health literacy could be a cross cutting intervention.

Factors Influencing Self-Management in Chinese Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Diabetes is a major public health problem in China. Diabetes self-management is critical for patients to achieved better health outcomes, however, previous studies have shown suboptimal diabetes self-management performance. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify factors associated with diabetes self-management in Chinese adults. The results showed that confrontation, resignation, overall health beliefs, perceived susceptibility, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy were factors associated with overall diabetes self-management performance and six aspects of diabetes self-management behaviors. There is some limited evidence to suggest that provider-patient communication, married individuals, higher educational level, and higher household income level may also be linked to better diabetes self-management practice. Having healthcare insurance and utilizing chronic illness resources generally appeared to have a favorable effect on diabetes self-management performance. In addition, there were a number of factors for which the evidence is too limited to be able to ascertain its strength of association with diabetes self-management practice. The findings of this review suggest that diabetes self-management behaviors are affected by a wide range of personal and environmental factors, which allow health care providers to develop theory-based strategies to improve diabetes-self-management behaviors in this population.

Does patient empowerment predict self-care behavior and glycosylated hemoglobin in chinese patients with type 2 diabetes?

BACKGROUND

Patient empowerment is playing an increasingly important role in diabetes and related disorders. This study evaluated the correlations among patient empowerment, self-care behavior, and glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes in mainland China.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study. Eight hundred eighty-five patients who sought care at hospitals in Nanjing, Changsha, Yunnan, and Chongqing, China, were enrolled. Structured questionnaires and medical records provided the data. The instruments included a demographic and clinical questionnaire, the Diabetes Empowerment Scale-Short Form, and the Chinese version of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Scale. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was used as a measure of glycemic control. The data analyses are presented as proportions, means (±SD), β, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multilinear regressions were used to examine the correlations among the scores of patient empowerment, self-care behavior, and HbA1c values.

RESULTS

Linear regression revealed that patient empowerment was a statistically significant predictor of patients' self-care behavior even after controlling for age, gender, marital status, educational level, and diabetes duration. Diet (β=0.449; 95% CI, 0.370, 0.528), exercise (β=0.222; 95% CI, 0.164, 0.279), blood glucose testing (β=0.152; 95% CI, 0.106, 0.199), medication taking (β=0.062; 95% CI, 0.030, 0.095), and foot care (β=0.279; 95% CI, 0.217, 0.342). Additionally, patient empowerment was a statistically significant predictor of HbA1c (β=-0.094; 95% CI, -0.123, -0.065).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicated that perceived diabetes empowerment is a predictor of self-care behavior and HbA1c in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, interventions to enhance and promote patient empowerment should be essential components of diabetes education programs to improve self-care behavior and glycemic control.