Self Care Practices among People with Type II Diabetes Mellitus in an Urban Area of Ernakulam, Kerala Aravind M S1, Joy Teena Mary2,*, Rakesh P S3 1MPH Scholar, MD Community Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kochi, Kerala 2Assistant Professor, MD Community Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kochi, Kerala 3Assistant Professor, MD Community Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kochi, Kerala *Corresponding author: Teena Mary Joy, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Ponekkara, Kochi-682041, Email: teenatixon@gmail.com
Online published on 26 September, 2019. Abstract Introduction Diabetes prevalence has been rising more rapidly in middle-and low-income countries. In 2015, an estimated 1.6 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes worldwide. The Crude prevalence rate in the urban areas of India is thought to be 9%, while in Kerala it was estimated to be around 20%. Diabetes can be controlled and its consequences avoided with proper self-care practices. This study attempts to assess the current self-care practices among people with diabetes in a selected urban area of Ernakulam district. Methodology The cross sectional studies included 240 households, which were selected using systematic random sampling. Trained interns used a validated questionnaire-diabetes self-management questionnaire (DSMQ), to collect data. Self-care practices were assessed using a 16-item questionnaire. The scale score ranges from 0–10. People who obtained ≥6.67 were considered to have good self-care practices. Results Out of 99 people with type two diabetes mellitus in the survey, 68 answered Diabetic Self-care Management Questionnaire. Mean age of the study participants was 62.59 (SD +/-11.2). Majority of the respondents were males (57.4%). Overall 51% of people obtained high score (CI 39.13–62.87). In the sub domain scores 60.3% of people got low score in physical activity, and 54.4% people obtained low score in the domain of dietary care. People with higher education obtained higher scores compared to people with low educational background (p=<0.005). Conclusion The result of this study shows that the self-care behaviour among people with diabetes in urban areas of Ernakulum were poor in the domain of physical activity and dietary care. Non-compliance to diabetic management is expected to increase the complications and increase the cost of health care. A good diabetes self-management behaviour change communication program at the primary care level with emphasis on motivating good self-care behaviours are the need of the hour. Top Keywords Self care practices, Type II diabetes mellitus, Lifestyle-modifications. Top |