title: Does patient empowerment predict self-care behavior and glycosylated hemoglobin in chinese patients with type 2 diabetes?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patient empowerment is playing an increasingly important role in diabetes and related disorders. This study evaluated the correlations among patient empowerment, self-care behavior, and glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes in mainland China.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study. Eight hundred eighty-five patients who sought care at hospitals in Nanjing, Changsha, Yunnan, and Chongqing, China, were enrolled. Structured questionnaires and medical records provided the data. The instruments included a demographic and clinical questionnaire, the Diabetes Empowerment Scale-Short Form, and the Chinese version of the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Scale. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was used as a measure of glycemic control. The data analyses are presented as proportions, means (±SD), β, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Multilinear regressions were used to examine the correlations among the scores of patient empowerment, self-care behavior, and HbA1c values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Linear regression revealed that patient empowerment was a statistically significant predictor of patients' self-care behavior even after controlling for age, gender, marital status, educational level, and diabetes duration. Diet (β=0.449; 95% CI, 0.370, 0.528), exercise (β=0.222; 95% CI, 0.164, 0.279), blood glucose testing (β=0.152; 95% CI, 0.106, 0.199), medication taking (β=0.062; 95% CI, 0.030, 0.095), and foot care (β=0.279; 95% CI, 0.217, 0.342). Additionally, patient empowerment was a statistically significant predictor of HbA1c (β=-0.094; 95% CI, -0.123, -0.065).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study indicated that perceived diabetes empowerment is a predictor of self-care behavior and HbA1c in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, interventions to enhance and promote patient empowerment should be essential components of diabetes education programs to improve self-care behavior and glycemic control.
authors: 1 Jiangsu Province Hospital on Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine affiliated with Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China .
authors: Shengnan
authors: S
authors: Yang
authors: Cunyi
authors: C
authors: Hsue
authors: Qingqing
authors: Q
authors: Lou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D000067290:Behavior Rating Scale; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000523:psychology; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis*; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010358:Patient Participation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human