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Diabetes Knowledge, Self-care Behaviours, Acculturation, and Health Outcomes in Arabic-speaking Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in Edmonton, Canada
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NON
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- Author / Creator
- Belag, Aida
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The number of Arabic-speaking immigrants in Canada is growing, as is the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in this population. Understanding of T2D knowledge, self-care management, and diabetes-related outcomes in this population is lacking. Our objective was to examine the level of diabetes knowledge, self-care behaviours, acculturation, and health outcomes in Arabic-speaking adults with T2D in Canada, and explore whether women and men in this population have different health behaviours, as well as sociodemographic, psychosocial, and clinical characteristics.
We conducted a cross-sectional study in Edmonton, AB between July 2017 and January 2018 on 115 consenting individuals recruited from primary care clinics and community centers. Data collection involved face-to-face or phone interviews in completing a survey administered via Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). The interviews were conducted in the Arabic language by Arabic-speaking research team. The survey included measures of diabetes knowledge (Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test), self-care behaviours (Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activates, SDSCA), medication adherence (Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, MMAS8), and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire 2, PHQ-2). In addition to the survey, we conducted a review of patients’ medical charts (N=110 complete chart reviews). The mean age of participants was 57.6 (SD=10.7) years, and the majority were male (61.4%). Overall, 59.7% of participants were low-income Canadians of Arabic descent. The mean diabetes duration was 23.9 (SD 17.5) years. The majority (87.0%) had a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25kg/m2, and 71.9% had a family history of diabetes. More than half of respondents reported having hypertension (58.8%) or dyslipidemia (54.4%). Only 47.2 % of the subjects met the glycated hemoglobin target of < 7%, and just more than the half 53.5% had an average score on diabetes knowledge, and 25.4 % scored poorly. The most impoverished domain of self-care behaviour was physical activity, followed by self-monitoring of blood glucose, and diet. Participants had high levels of foot care self-care management. Overall, 26.2% had poor medication adherence. One in five participants (19.3%) screened positive for depressive symptoms. Also, Arabic-speaking women with T2D had higher BMI (mean 34.7 kg/m2, SD 5.7) compared to men (mean 31.6 kg/m2, SD 7.1), and were less likely to exercise as part of diabetes management.
Overall, in this first study of its kind, we found significant gaps in knowledge and self-care behaviour in the Arabic-speaking population affected by T2D, and the results suggest that gender may influence these gaps. Therefore, culturally and gender-tailored interventions are required to enhance diabetes knowledge, self-care behaviours, and health outcomes in Arabic-speaking individuals with T2D in Edmonton -
- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2018
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.