Self-care Behaviors and Related Factors in Women with Type 2 Diabetes

To prevent diabetes complications and improve the quality of life of these patients، adherence to self-care is essential. The purpose of present study was to examine self-care behaviors and related factors in women with type 2 diabetes. This descriptive analytic cross sectional study was performed on 140 female patients with type 2 diabetes who referred to the diabetes clinic in Ahvaz between December-March 2014. Research data were collected through interviews using demographic and disease characteristics question­nnaires and the summary of diabetes self-care activities measure. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed and approved. The range of self-care scale was 0-77. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics، Pearson''s correlation coefficients tests، t-test، one-way ANOVA، Kruskal-Wallis and multiple linear regression models. The mean score of self-care behaviors in patients was 11. 55±30. 93، indicating moderate self-care. The highest mean scores were those of diet، 16. 28±5. 38 and proper medication compliance 5. 74±2. 57، while blood sugar monitoring 1. 89±3. 38 and physical activity 2. 24±3. 09 showed the lowest scores. The score of self-care behaviors showed a statistically significant difference among levels of education، duration of disease، life network، level of fasting blood glucose and mode of physician referral (P<0. 05). These significant variables، except fasting blood glucose explained 23% of self-care variance. The findings of this study could be useful for designing and implementation of educational programs to promote self-care behaviors and more effective control of type 2 diabetes in women.