Self-care practices and its determinants among diabetic population in rural Andhra Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Self-care practice by diabetic people is key to achieving therapeutic goals. The objectives of the study were to describe the self-care practice of adult people with type 2 diabetes in a rural area of Andhra Pradesh and to identify the determinants of poor self-care practice of this population. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the known diabetics in a rural PHC between November 2018 and October 2019. Self-care practices among the registered diabetes patients were described in seven domains as recommended by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). Risk factors were identified using univariate, followed by multivariate logistic regression. The risk for poor self-care score was expressed in odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: A total of 727 participants were recruited for the study. The mean age of the participants was 57 years (SD: 9.5 years). The self-care was prominent in diet modification, physical activity, and physical activity components. The median self-care score of the participants was 14 (IQR = 12.5 to 15.5). 32.6% (95% CI: 31.6%–33.6%) participants had good self-care scores. With multivariate regression analysis, we found that widowed/separated (aOR 1.85, 95% CI: 1.2–3.0) was a risk factor for poor self-care scores; and skilled workers (aOR 0.28, 95% CI: 0.1–0.6) had a significantly lower risk compared to the unskilled workers. Conclusion: Overall, self-care practices are poor in problem-solving, risk reduction and healthy coping behaviours. Low education and poor socio-economic status could be the most likely reasons for poor self-care practices.

Keywords

• ‘Diabetes mellitus’
• ‘India’
• ‘Self care’