The Association between Health Literacy and Self-Care among the Elderly with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Muang District, Suphanburi Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional survey aimed to study health literacy level on self-care behaviors of the elderly with type 2 diabetes, and relationship between health literacy and self-care among the elderly with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Muang district, Suphanburi province. The conceptual framework on health literacy of the Department of Health Service Support, Ministry of Public Health (2561) and self care deficit theory of Orem (2001) have been applied to this study. The participants were 240 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes, aged 60 years and over. The multistage sampling technique was used to recruit participants and data were collected during August to September in 2020 using self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square with p-value at .05.

The study revealed that the majority (61.25%) of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes reported having high self-care behavior of type 2 diabetes and 59.92% of those subjects also reported at low level towards health literacy skills on self-care behavior of type 2 diabetes. Focusing on the levels of health literacy on self-care behaviors, the participants presented the levels of cognitive abilities at 75.80%, the level of accessing to health information at 55.80%, the level of media literacy capability at 49.17%, the level of self-management skill at 67.08%, the level of communication skill at 62.92%, and the level of decision skill at 81.67%. Overall relationship between the six dimensions of health literacy and self - care among the elderly with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus were statically significant with p-value<.05 ( =10.547 p-value .001).

Recommendation: the results of the study could be used as a basis for setting up the programs for promoting health literacy among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and health literacy in order to increase effectiveness of preventing complications in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.