Abstract
Background. Diabetes care requires a multipronged approach, wherein the patient has an important role to play. This study was undertaken to explore self-care practices of diabetic patients residing in Anand district of Gujarat. Methods. A cross-sectional study, involving 100 diabetic patients, was conducted in 2009-2010. Self-care practices in seven domains of physical activity, dietary practices, medication taking, monitoring of glucose, problem solving, foot care, and psychosocial adjustment were assessed using scores assigned to participants' responses. Results. The mean age was 60.9 (SD = 12.2) years and 57% were males. Majority (92%) were Hindus and were consulting private medical practitioners (71%). “Medication taking” was the domain with the best performance score (88.1%) and “problem solving” the worst (11.0%). The “psychosocial adjustment” of the participants was satisfactory (82.5%). Overall mean performance percentage score was 54.41%. Males had better performance scores as compared to females in areas of “physical activity,” “dietary practices,” and “problem solving.” Housewives had poorer performance scores. Total mean performance score was similar for patients on treatment from specialists and general practitioners. Conclusion. A self-care education program designed for this region should address the lacunae identified in various domains with a special emphasis on females.
Highlights
Diabetes, with a global prevalence of 8.3%, affects about 371 million people around the world leading to around 4.8 million deaths every year
Majority (92%) belonged to the Hindu religion. 78% of them were married and living with a life partner. 33% of the participants were employed in some form of work, 22% had retired from work, and 45% were housewives
6%, 11%, and 30% persons reported suffering from eye, cerebrovascular, and cardiac complications, respectively, while none reported renal complications
Summary
With a global prevalence of 8.3%, affects about 371 million people around the world leading to around 4.8 million deaths every year. In order to develop such an educational program, we need to make a baseline assessment of the self-care practices of the patients. It would help us in identifying the lacunae in the patients’ practices as well as serve as a benchmark for future comparisons in order to assess the effectiveness of a program. Taking into consideration these issues, a study was designed to explore the self-care practices of the diabetic patients of five villages and two urban slums of Anand district in Gujarat, India.
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