Factors Related to Self Care Behavior Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients, Supan Buri Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional research was aimed to study the factors related to self-care behaviors of the
patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The criteria for selecting the samples were:- males and females aged 35
years and higher and were diagnosed by physicians of having Type 2 diabetes mellitus not less than 6 months.
Simple random sampling was used to select 357 sampled patients from the roster of the patients with Type 2
diabetes mellitus who came to get services at the hospital and their characteristics were met with the inclusion
criteria set. Data were collected by using the interviewing schedule that had been checked for its content
validity and reliability in accordance with the standard criteria set. Data analysis was done by computing
frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, Chi-square test and Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient
Correlation. The results showed that most of the samples were males (62.7%); aged 61 years and higher
(46.2%); were married (62.7%); and 41.18 percent had Type 2 diabetes mellitus for less than 5 years. The
factors that were found to relate significantly with the samples’ self-car behaviors in regard to medication were:
knowledge about self-care (r=0.303, p<0.001); perceived severity of complications (r=0.353, p<0.001),
perceived self-efficacy (r+0.381, p<0.001) and outcome expectations (r=0.228, p<0.001). The factors that
were found to relate significantly with self-care in regard to food consumption were: age (r=0.158, p<0.003);
marital status (2=13.669, p=0.008), educational status (2=26.437, p=0.019); perceived severity of
complications (r=0.117, p<0.01); perceived self-efficacy (r=0.381, p=0.027); and outcome expectations
(r=0.292, p<0.001). And the factors that were found to relate significantly to patients’ self-care in regard to
exercise were: marital status (2= 13.669, p=0.008), educational level (2=26.437, p<0.001), occupation
(2=27.245, p<0.001); knowledge about self-care ( r=0.146, p=0.006); perceived severity of complications
(r=0.106, p=0.001); perceived self-efficacy (r=0.43, p<0.001), and outcome expectations (r=0.257, p<0.001).
The recommendations for the hospitals providing health services for patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus
were: activities should be organized to promote knowledge about diabetes mellitus and self-care.