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Diabetic Self-Care Practices and Quality of Life Among Diabetic Patients in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia: A
Asayel S Almutairi1, Saulat Jahan2
1Family Medicine, Family Medicine Academy, Qassim Health Cluster, Buraidah, SAU.
Introduction:
Diabetes is a common chronic disease that requires effective self-care practices. These practices play an important role in improving patients' quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to determine the level of diabetic self-care practices and QoL of diabetic patients in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. Additionally, it explored the factors influencing the QoL of these patients.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted among diabetic patients in primary health care centers. Data were collected using an Arabic self-administered electronic questionnaire, including the modified validated Arabic version of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA) and the modified validated Arabic version of the Diabetes Quality of Life (DQoL) questionnaire. The questionnaire was pilot tested prior to data collection. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 29 (Released 2022; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York).
Results:
A total of 155 participants were included in the study. The mean age of the study participants was 53 ± 10.8 years, with almost equal representation of males (49.7%) and females (50.3%). Most participants (78.1%) were treated with oral medications in the form of tablets, and less than one-third (29.0%) had HbA1c levels below 7%. Medication adherence showed the highest self-care scores (6.3 ± 1.73 days per week), followed by glucose monitoring (3.4 ± 2.42 days per week). QoL was significantly associated with gender and HbA1c levels. Positive correlations were found between QoL and both medication adherence and shoe checking practices.
Conclusion:
Medication adherence was the most commonly practiced self-care behavior and was associated with better QoL. However, lifestyle-related practices were suboptimal. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions focusing on lifestyle modification to improve overall diabetes management and patient outcomes.
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