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How much time do patients with diabetes spend on self-care?
Monika M Safford1, Louise Russell, Dong-Churl Suh
1University of Alabama at Birmingham Preventive Medicine, 35294, USA. msafford@uab.edu
The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
|July 5, 2005
Summary
Diabetes patients dedicate significant time to self-care, yet many skip crucial tasks like foot care and exercise. This highlights opportunities for clinicians to support patient self-management strategies.
Area of Science:
- Diabetes self-management research
- Public health and patient care
Background:
- Diabetes self-management is crucial for patient care.
- Limited data exists on the time commitment required for diabetes self-management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the time diabetic patients spend on self-care activities.
- To identify patient characteristics associated with time spent on self-management.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 1482 diabetic patients in the northeastern United States.
- Survey data collected on time spent on foot care, exercise, and food preparation.
- Logistic and linear regression analyses used to model self-care time.
Main Results:
- Patients spent an average of 58 minutes per day on self-care.
- Significant proportions of patients skipped foot care (37.9%), exercise (37.7%), and food preparation (54.4%).
- Patients who never self-tested were less likely to engage in self-care activities and spent less total time.
Conclusions:
- While most patients invest considerable time in self-care, many neglect individual components.
- Opportunities exist for healthcare providers to engage in shared decision-making to improve self-management adherence.