Rural Culture and Diabetes Self-Management Beliefs, Behaviors, and Health Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Rural Health
• Diabetes Management

Background:

• Rural populations experience higher diabetes mortality rates.
• Limited access to diabetes self-management education and support interventions in rural areas.
• The influence of rural culture on diabetes self-management remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the connections between rural culture, diabetes beliefs, self-management behaviors, and health outcomes.
• To explore how rural identity and self-reliance influence diabetes management.
• To identify cultural factors affecting diabetes care in rural settings.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 500 adults with Type 2 diabetes from a rural healthcare system.
• Utilized validated surveys measuring rural identity, self-reliance, perceived diabetes threat, and self-management behaviors.
• Collected A1c data from medical records and performed statistical analyses, including moderation.

Main Results:

• Better diabetes self-management was linked to lower perceived threat, being female, and older age.
• Self-reliance and rural identity significantly moderated the relationship between perceived threat and self-management.
• An A1c below 8% correlated with improved self-management behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Rural culture, including self-reliance and identity, directly and indirectly influences diabetes beliefs and behaviors.
• Findings underscore the complexity of diabetes management in rural populations.
• Implications for rural nursing practice in addressing cultural factors for better diabetes outcomes.