The Relationship between Demographic Variables and Diabetes Self-Management in Diabetic Patients in Amman City/Jordan

Mezyed A Adwan,Yahya Waleed Najjar

doi:10.5539/gjhs.v5n2p213

Abstract

Background:Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires routine and complicated self care. Although self care can be managed by most diabetes patients, there are many variables that may make diabetes self-management difficult.Aim:The study examined the relationship between clients’ demographic variables and diabetes self-management in diabetic clients in Amman city/Jordan.Method:The data were collected through a self-completed questionnaire developed by the researchers and combined with the perceived diabetes self-management scale (PDSMS). The sampling of the investigation comprised 178 diabetes clients from Amman city/Jordan.Findings:There was proportional little relationship between income level and diabetes self management, and reversely proportional low relationship between duration of diabetes and diabetes self management. Other variables had no relationship with diabetes self management.Conclusion:The demographic variables related to diabetes self-management in this study are income level and duration of diabetes. As income level increases, diabetes self-management become better, and the longer the duration of diabetes, the worse is diabetes self-management.

Highlights

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a devastating chronic disease (Donnell et al, 2001)
Purpose of Study This study aimed to examine the relationship between demographic variables and diabetes self-management in diabetic clients in Amman City/ Jordan
More than half of the participants were with low annual income and more than eighty percent of the participants depend on the insurance coverage for medical treatment and regular follow-up

Summary

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a devastating chronic disease (Donnell et al, 2001). About 30% of Arab people with diabetes, and 624 million Jordanian Dinars (JD) are spent on diabetes treatment every year (Al- Ajlouni, 2010). Medical care in the absence of adequate self-care is rarely effective for chronic illnesses (Bonsignore & Suhl, 2006), and DM is a complex disease to manage, and most of the care involving self-management (Chlebowy, Hood & LaJoie, 2010) ,so people with diabetes must be equipped with the information necessary to implement the routine and complicated adequate self-care (Chen et al, 2009), these information include educating about home blood glucose monitoring, meal planning, and recognizing how and when to administer insulin or take oral diabetes medications (Bonsignore & Suhl, 2006). Internal factors may be barriers to diabetes self-management which include fears associated with glucose monitoring, lack of self-control over dietary habits, memory failure, and perceived lack of personal control over diabetes (Chlebowy, Hood, & LaJoie, 2010). Aim: The study examined the relationship between clients' demographic variables and diabetes self-management in diabetic clients in Amman city/Jordan. Conclusion: The demographic variables related to diabetes self-management in this study are income level and duration of diabetes. Diabetes self-management become better, and the longer the duration of diabetes, the worse is diabetes self-management

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