Diabetes Knowledge, Self-care Behaviours, Acculturation, and Health Outcomes in Arabic-speaking Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in Edmonton, Canada

• NON

• Author / Creator

  Belag, Aida

• 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

  • Diabetes Knowledge
  • Self-care behaviors
  • Arabic-speaking
  • Edmonton

• Graduation date

  Fall 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3XD0RD4S

• License

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