Adherence to Diabetes Self-Care Practices Across Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to examine the level of adherence to self-care behaviors across socio-demographic and clinical characteristics in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods A total of 270 patients with diabetes who were referred to two medical centers in Gorgan, Iran, participated in this cross-sectional study. We assessed adherence using a reliable questionnaire, the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA). The anthropometric measurements and blood pressure were assessed based on a standard protocol. The biochemical variables were gathered based on the medical documents of the centers. To compare adherence scores across clinical and demographic variables, independent t-test and ANOVA were used. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The mean age of participants was 57.16 ± 9.20 years, and nearly 66% of patients were female. The mean SDSCA score was 3.50 ± 0.87. Regarding self-care domains, the highest adherence scores were observed for medication use (6.07 ± 1.42) and foot care (6.05 ± 1.50), while blood glucose monitoring (2.16 ± 1.89) yielded the lowest score. A significant difference was observed between adherence scores and better glycemic control (P<0.001) and a more favorable lipid profile (P=0.001). No significant difference was observed between factors such as age, gender, duration of diabetes, BMI, and type of medication used with total score adherence. Conclusion Overall adherence to self-care practices among T2DM patients was suboptimal. Moreover, higher adherence to self-care behaviors is associated with a better metabolic situation. Targeted educational and awareness programs are recommended to enhance self-care behaviors and optimize metabolic outcomes in this population.