title: Factors promoting diabetes self-care among low-income, minority pregnant women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prospectively identify factors promoting healthy self-management of gestational and type 2 diabetes mellitus among underserved pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews were performed over the course of pregnancy for 10 women with diabetes. Interviews on factors promoting diabetes self-management used cognitive load theory to frame questions. Qualitative analysis of longitudinal interview data applied grounded theory techniques to generate themes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Half this cohort of minority, low-income, public aid-supported women had type 2 diabetes. Four themes, comprised of both internal self-driven motivators and external sources of support, were identified. These themes were: (1) disease familiarity and diabetes self-efficacy; (2) external motivation (for health of fetus and responsibilities to older children); (3) supportive social and physical environment; and (4) self-regulatory behavior, including goal responsiveness and long-term goal-setting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-income women used multiple internal and external resources to promote health during a pregnancy complicated by diabetes. Successful behavior modification and achievement of diabetes care goals require leveraging these resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Niznik
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.|Departments of Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008913:Minority Groups; D009042:Motivation; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000208:ethnology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012648:Self Care / Q000592:standards*; D012944:Social Support