assessment of self-care practice and its associated factors among diabetic patients in urban area of urmia, northwest of iran

background: self care of diabetes is essential for control of disease and improvement of quality of patients' life. the aim of this study was to assess factors influencing self-care practice of patients in urban area of urmia, northwest of iran. methods: in this cross-sectional study, 400 diabetic patients were randomly selected from eight healthcare centers in urmia city in 2010. data collection tools was a questionnaire included data on demographic characteristics, diabetes statues, and self-care practice. patients' self-care practice was classified to good, moderate, and poor levels. anova and chi–square tests were used to exam the association between self-care practice and clinical and behavioral factors. spearman’s rho correlation was used to examine the relation between self-care practice and control of glycemia. results: the patients' self-care practice was good in 15.1%, moderate in 58.7%, and poor in 26.2%. there was a significant association between education ( p =0.030), duration of disease ( p =0.04), and treatment intensity ( p =0.001) and self-care practice of patients. conclusion: despite the important role of self-care practice in management of diabetes and preventing its serious complications, most patients who have medical record in health care centers had inappropriate self-care practice especially in smbg, which has critical role in controlling diabetes.