Analysis of Self-care Behaviors and their Related Factors in Patients with Type II Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the most common and no communicable diseases associated with major complications. Patient participation in the process of therapy is one of the effective factorsin controlling the diabetes complications, as well as improving their quality of life and treatment efficacy. This study aimed to analyzethe self-care behaviors and their related factorsin patients with type II diabetes.
This descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional cohort study was conducted by census method on 129 patients withtype II diabetes referred to the Ardabil Diabetic Clinic, Ardabil, Iran, during 2016. Data were collectedusinga demographic form and Summary of Diabetes Self Care Activities (SDSCA) scale, which determines the self-care behaviors during thepast week. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation tests, Chi-squared, and t-test were run in SPSS, version 16.
In this study, out of the 129 included diabetic patients, 64(49.6%) and 65(50.4%) subjects were male and female, respectively. Their mean age was 56.82 years and 63.56% of them were affected by at least one other chronic disease. The self-care score of 46.5% of the patients was reported to beaverage. The self-care behaviors were significantly correlated with the level of income (p=0/001), age (p=0/004), and marital status (p=0/001). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between several self-care components (e.g.,regular blood glucose monitoring, diet and medicationcompliance, and foot care).
Given the fact that the majority of thediabetic patients had an average score of self-care,regular, purposeful, and model-based educational interventions are recommended to identify behavioral barriers and promote self-care.