EXAMINING THE ROLE OF SELF-CARE MANGEMENT IN TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS AT THE KORLE BU TEACHING HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has become an important area of research over the years, due to the increasing number of people suffering from the disease. In Ghana for instance, the increasing prevalence rate had led to increase in healthcare budget with high economic burden on diabetes patients, families, healthcare system and the nation. There is a great need for self- care management which is relatively cheaper and very important in the treatment of diabetes. The aim of this research is to examine the role of self-care in the management of type 2 diabetes. Leventhal‘s Common Sense Model of Self - Regulation of Health and Illness was used as a guiding framework for the study. A cross-sectional hospital based exploratory design was used to conduct this study at The National Diabetes Management and Research Centre (NDMRC) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). Survey method was used to collect data from a sample of 400 diabetes patients. Analyses was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive, correlational statistics and hierarchical multiple regression were the statistical methods used in data analysis. Results from the study showed that total self-care practices was negatively associated with HbA1c. Age, number of years living with DM and total self-care significantly predicted 19.3% of variation in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) with total self-care contributing 35.5% to the predictive power. Self-care is effective in controlling glycemic levels (HbA1c) in people with DM. Though participants had high perception on DM and its‘ management this did not reflect in their self-care practices hence glycemic levels. This study therefore recommends that a balance be drawn between oral health education on DM and monitoring of patients ‗self-care activities to ensure that patients adhere to self-care practices. In addition, it is recommended that the cost of glucometers be greatly subsidized or factored into NHIS and distributed freely to diabetes patients. A qualitative research is suggested to be done in order to explore the relationship between increased knowledge and practice of self-care among DM patients.