Predicting dietary management intention of patients with chronic kidney disease using protection motivation theory

Psychological determinants underlying the dietary management intention (DMI) of Chinese patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are not well understood. This hinders the development of theory-informed dietary interventions targeting this population. The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing DMI of Chinese patients with CKD through the lens of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT).

500 patients with CKD from a nephrology ward of a large teaching hospital in China completed a survey including measures of PMT constructs (i.e., perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, self-efficacy, response efficacy, and response cost) using validated scales adapted from previous studies. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and multiple linear regression.

Three PMT constructs, namely perceived severity [B = 0.198, P < 0.001], response efficacy [B = 0.331, P  < 0.001], and self-efficacy [B = 0.325, P  < 0.001], two demographic variables, namely single status [B = -0.180, P = 0.028] and education level [B = 0.080, P = 0.007], and a disease-related variable, namely CKD stage [B = .056, P = 0.001], predicted 39.3% of the variance of the CKD DMI. No significant effect on CKD DMI was observed for other predictor variables (P > 0.05).

Applying the PMT, significant predictors of DMI in Chinese patients with CKD were identified, which should be targeted in behavior change initiatives aimed at promoting dietary management.