ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus among Malaysian aged ≥ 18 years increased from 11.6% (2006) to 17.5% (2015). Positive self–care behaviour leads to good glycaemic control. The objective of this study is to determine the self-care behaviour, its associated factors and predictors among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in government health clinics at a district of Northern Peninsular Malaysia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 546 T2DM patients aged ≥ 18 years, recruited by simple random sampling method. A validated self-administered questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics, diabetes profile, knowledge, Health Belief Model (HBM) and Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activity Scale (SDSCA) was used. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22.0. Self-care behaviour is the dependent variable. Results: The respondents practised 3.4 (SD = 1.11) days self-care behaviour past 1 week. The predictors of self-care behaviour were self-efficacy (standardized β = 0.257, p< 0.001), knowledge (standardized β = 0.112, p = 0.007), female (standardized β = 0.107, p = 0.010), combination oral hypoglycaemic agents (OHA) and insulin (standardized β = -0.182, p = 0.002), and monthly income < RM1,000 (standardized β = -0.129, p = 0.002). The entire group of variables significantly predicted self-care behaviour [F (6, 539) = 15.79, p < 0.001, adjusted R2 = 0.140] with total variance of 14.9%. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor in self-care behaviour. Conclusion: The findings enable us to identify the specific groups with predicted lower self-care behaviour which are useful in future planning and implementation of intervention.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Elderly patients with diabetes are at a high risk of contracting diabetic foot problems. Self-efficacy is essential to help improve foot care behaviour. Aim: To identify levels of self-efficacy and foot care behaviour and their relationship with demographic characteristics in elderly patients with diabetes Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two general hospitals in Malaysia from May to June 2015. Diabetes patients aged 60 years with specific inclusion criteria were invited to participate in this study. The respondents were interviewed using a set of validated questionnaires. Data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics (multiple linear regression) using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0. Results: Levels of foot self-efficacy (mean+31.39; standard deviation=7.76) and foot care behaviour (mean=25.37; SD=5.88) were high. There was a positive significant relationship between foot selfefficacy (β = 0.41, p < 0.001) and gender (β = 0.30, p < 0.001) with foot care behaviour. Conclusion: Self-efficacy can be incorporated in diabetes education to improve foot care behaviour. High-risk patients should be taught proper foot inspection and protection as well as the merits of skin care to prevent the occurrence of diabetic foot problems.