A group of investigators from the University of Cincinnati recently described research they conducted in China. Patients with diabetes must incorporate a complicated regimen of self-management into their daily lives (e.g., taking medication, dieting, exercising). Diabetes self-management (DSM) is the cornerstone for controlling diabetes and preventing diabetic complications. The purpose of the study was to test a model describing the effects of individual and environmental factors on DSM in a sample of patients with diabetes in Beijing, China. Survey data were gathered from a convenience sample of 201 Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes during outpatient visits. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Model fit indices indicated a good fit to the data. In the final model, beliefs in treatment effectiveness and diabetes self-efficacy were proximate factors affecting DSM. Knowledge, social support, and provider-patient communication affected self-management indirectly via beliefs and self-efficacy.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: The findings provided a theoretical basis to direct the development of interventions for improving DSM in Chinese individuals with diabetes. What would be important to you would be not only to use outcome measures to assess the effectiveness of any intervention you employ, but also to continually measure the self-efficacy of patients to perform self-management skills. This will insure the maintenance of performance.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A PATIENT: When taught how to control your diabetes through a self-management program, it is important that you perform these skills. With continued performance, the greater the confidence you will have that you can perform the skills in the future. This self-efficacy helps you to live as healthy a life as possible with diabetes.

Y Xu et al. Factors influencing diabetes self-management in Chinese people with type 2 diabetes. Research in Nursing & Health, July 8, 2008.