Self-Care Management and Its Predictors Among Jordanian Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Cross-Sectional Study

Background Self-care management (SCM) is a cornerstone in the management of diabetes mellitus (DM), as it has a positive impact on glycemic control.Aims To investigate the level, specific practices, correlates, and predictors of SCM practices among Jordanian adult patients with type 1 diabetes (DM1).Methodology Using an online self-report questionnaire, a convenience sample of 127 DM type 1 patients were recruited who agreed to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire had four sections; demographics, the diabetes self-efficacy scale (DSES), the appraisal of self-care agency scale-revised (ASAR-R), and the Diabetes Self-Management Scale (DSMS).Results The mean score of the total Diabetes Self-Management Scale (DSMS) of patients was 204.16 (SD = 40.35, range = 97-299). We found that SCM practices differed between patients according to their characteristics; the SCM-Activity and SCM-Food differed according to gender, educational level, and income. Furthermore, there were significant negative relationships between the duration of being diagnosed with DM and SCM-activity, and between BMI and each of SCM-Blood glucose monitoring and SCM-adherence to the medication regimen. Lastly, sequential regression showed that income, self-efficacy (SE), and self-care agency (SCA) were significant predictors of SCM.Conclusions Patients with DM type 1 exhibit different levels of SCM according to their personal and clinical characteristics. Tailored health education plans should be provided to patients according to their risk factors for low SCM practices.