A Survey about Self-Care of Diabetic Patients Referring a healthcare center in Yazd (Iran)

Objective: Diabetes is one of the most prevalent disorders in human. During recent years the rate of diabetes had been increased in the world and it will be increased by 122% from 1995 to 2025. The aim of this study was to determine the self-care of diabetic patients referred to Rahmatabad health care center in Yazd city, Iran. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study done on 152 diabetic patients referred to Rahmatabad health care center, Yazd, Iran in 2011. Data were collected through a questionnaire consisting of demographic data (age, sex, level of education, job, and types of diabetes) and also the questions about self-care. The questionnaire was developed in consultation with three health educators and three questionnaire validation experts. After entering into SPSS, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. Results: Their behavior about using the rate of the insulin, physical activity, using weekly food plan and using food was not suitable, but they used their oralantidiabetic drugs and insulin suitably. Results showed there was significant relation between self- care and job of participants (P=0.02). Conclusion: Results of our study and also other studies revealed that self- care in diabetic patients is very important and can decrease the cost of treatment and complication of diseases. More than 75% of diabetic patients are type 2, and their self-efficacy is not suitable, there is need to stress on type 2 patients in education program.