Relationship between perceived social support and self-care behavior in type 2 diabetics: A cross-sectional study

Social support is one of the most effective factors on the diabetic self-care. This study aimed to assess social support and its relationship to self-care in type 2 diabetic patients in Qom, Iran.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 325 diabetics attending the Diabetes Mellitus Association.

Patients who meet inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected using random sampling method. Data were collected by the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, with hemoglobin A₁C test. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation, and linear regression test, using 0.05 as the critical significance level, provided by SPSS software.

The mean and standard deviation of self-care and social support scores were 4.31 ± 2.7 and 50.32 ± 11.09, respectively. The mean level of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA₁C) of patients was 7.54. There was a significant difference between mean score of self-care behaviors and social support according to gender and marital status (P < 0.05). The regression analysis showed that disease duration was the only variable which had a significant effect on the level of HbA₁C (P < 0.001). Pearson correlation coefficient indicated that self-care and social support significantly correlated (r = 0.489, P > 0.001) and also predictive power of social support was 0.28. Self-care was significantly better in diabetics with HbA₁C ≤7%. Patients who had higher HbA₁C felt less, but not significant, social support.

This study indicated the relationship between social support and self-care behaviors in type 2 diabetic patients. Interventions that focus on improving the social support and self-care of diabetic control may be more effective in improving glycemic control.