title: Religious and cultural distance in beliefs about health and illness in women with diabetes mellitus of different origin living in Sweden.
abstract: The study explored beliefs about health and illness in females with diabetes mellitus (DM) from different religious backgrounds living in Sweden. Swedes showed an active self-care behaviour and a healthy and controlled life-style. Ex-Yugoslavian Muslims emphasised enjoyment of life and a passive self-care attitude, lesser inclination to self-monitoring of blood glucose and preventive foot care. Arabs emphasised adaptation to DM and a lot of 'musts' concerning diet, and had a lower threshold for seeking care. They also emphasised being a believing Muslim, and although explaining the cause of DM as 'the will of Allah or God', in contrast to ex-Yugoslavians, they actively searched for information about management of DM. Cultural and religious distance are essential for understanding self-care practice and care-seeking behaviour, and need to be considered in the planning of diabetes care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, University of Lund, Sweden. katarina.hjelm@ivosa.vxu.se
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hjelm
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bard
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nyberg
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Apelqvist
mesh_terms: D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012067:Religion; D012648:Self Care; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D015022:Yugoslavia / Q000208:ethnology