Diabetes Self-management and Its Related Factors among Type 2 Diabetes Patients in Primary Health Care Settings of Kerman, Southeast Iran

Aims: Diabetes self-management (DSM) plays a crucial role in diabetes control. The present study was conducted to evaluate DSM and its related factors among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among T2DM patients from January to March 2017 in urban healthcare centers of Kerman city, southeast Iran. A total of 600 T2DM patients were enrolled in the study using a multistage sampling method. Valid and reliable diabetes self-management questionnaire (DSMQ) was employed for data collection.

Results: The mean (±SD) score of DSM was 6.92 (±1.17) out of 10 with inter quartile range 6.25-7.70. DSM mean score was higher in patients with higher educational level and household income significantly. Employed subjects (mean=7.18) had a higher DSM mean score than unemployed ones (mean=6.84). Moreover, DSM was better in patients who receive insulin and those with diabetes-related complications. DSM had a direct correlation with the number of visits by specialist physicians (r = 0.257, P < 0.001) and treatment duration (r = 0.103, P = 0.013). University education (Beta = 0.243, P < 0.001) was the strongest predictor of DMS, followed by high school education (Beta = 0.226, P < 0.001) and number of annual visits in primary healthcare centers (Beta = 0.205, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Self-Management behaviors were suboptimal among the diabetes patients. There-fore, designing and implementing effective interventions to improve self-care behaviors of diabetic patients is necessary in the first level of health delivery system in Iran.