Endocrine Abstracts

Method: One hundred and twenty-five respondents with type 1or type 2 diabetes, of both genders, were recruited from patients attending a private diabetes clinic in Karaj, Iran. They were asked to fill out the psychosocial barriers to self-care Questionnaire designed by Glasgow et al for estimating the frequency of occurrence of both environmental (e.g. time, competing demands, social pressure) and cognitive factors that interfere with diabetes self-management. Demographics and participants’ latest HbA1c were also collected.

Results: General and dietary barriers were the most frequent barriers to self-care behaviours(the outstanding item amongst them was being busy with ordinary daily tasks, 28% every day and 71% at least once a month), followed by barriers to exercise. Medication-taking barriers were less frequent, and barriers to glucose testing were reported least often. There were significant correlations between level of HbA1c with both dietary barriers and barriers to medication-taking. The results showed some similarity to those of Glasgow et al. (1989a and 1989b), however, in contrast with our results, glucose testing barriers were less frequent and barriers to medication-taking were reported least often.

Conclusions: Among Iranian population in the current study the most frequent obstacles to diabetes self-care were general barriers followed closely by barriers to diet and exercise. These findings point to the importance of family education and support for successful diabetes treatment.