Examining the Relationships between Social Support and Diabetes Self-Management Activities in Adult African Americans

Abstract

Diabetes, a chronic condition, disproportionally affects African Americans, Hispanics, Asian and Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). African Americans are more likely to suffer from complications associated with diabetes. Diabetes poses a huge socioeconomic burden on the African American population. Diabetes self-management is complex process that requires the ability to manage symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial changes in lifestyle. Diabetes self-management support (DSMS) activities are those activities that assist individuals in implementing and sustaining behaviors needed to manage diabetes (Haas et al., 2014). Social support is a diabetes self-management support activity. This study aimed to determine 1) the demographics of the African American patients with type 2 diabetes participating in this study, 2) examine the reliability of the Norbeck’s Social Support Questionnaire within the sample population, and 3) describe the associations between social support (emotional and tangible support), and self-care activities (exercise, general diet, specific diet, blood sugar testing, and foot care). This descriptive cross-sectional study took place at a health care clinic in Midwest region in the United States. Eighty-five African Americans ages 18-79 were recruited and consent to participate in this study. Results of the study support the use of the NSSQ in low income African Americans. A bivariate correlations matrix and Cronbach’s alpha were used to examine internal consistency via inter-item and item-total correlations for the NSSQ. Pearson’s correlations were performed to determine the relationship between social support variables and diabetes self-care activities. There were significant negative associations found between foot care and emotional support, r = -.220, p (2-tailed) =.043; between foot care and total network support, r = -.251, p (2-tailed) =5.021; between foot care and total functional support, r=-.214, p (2-tailed) = .05. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare demographic variables, social support variables, and diabetes self-care activities. There was a significant difference in total functional support for female (M=63.41, SD=44.85) and males (M= 38.52, SD= 20.95) t (81.811) = 3.483, p =.001 (two-tailed).