Abstract
Objectives: To describe the association between diabetes numeracy and diabetes self-management among Saudi adults with insulin-treated diabetes. Methods: From August 2018 to January 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 3 diabetes centers in Riyadh, Buraydah, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Systematic random sampling was used to include 290 Saudi adults with insulin-treated diabetes. The levels of diabetes numeracy and diabetes self-management were measured by using the Diabetes Numeracy Test tool (DNT-15) and Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire tool (DSMQ). Results: The final analysis included 279 completed surveys. The mean total score of DSMQ was 6.47. The total DSMQ score was higher among patients who had a lower level of education ( p =0.02), and patients who had a higher level of diabetes knowledge ( p =0.01). The mean total score of DNT-15 was 41.3%. Patients who had lower diabetes numeracy scores tended to be younger, married, have fewer years of education, have a lower monthly income( p <0.001), use insulin only, and have type 1 diabetes. Patients who achieved a total score of 82%, and higher in DNT-15 have also achieved the highest score in DSMQ ( p =0.17). A linear regression analysis adjusted for level of education, diabetes knowledge, and other variables found a modest association between low diabetes numeracy and low diabetes self-management ( p =0.08). Conclusion: Lower level of diabetes numeracy was associated with lower level of diabetes self-management.
Article Type
Research Article
First Page
517
Last Page
525
Recommended Citation
Alruhaim, Hiba Y.; Almigbal, Turky H.; Almutairi, Joud S.; Mujammami, Muhammad H.; AlMogbel, Turki A.; Alrasheed, Abdullah A.; and Batais, Mohammed A.
(2021)
"The association between diabetes numeracy and diabetes self-management among Saudi adults with insulin-treated diabetes,"
Saudi Medical Journal: Vol. 42:
Iss.
5, Article 7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2021.42.5.20200422