Out-of-home informal support important for medication adherence, diabetes distress, hemoglobin A1c among adults with type 2 diabetes

AbstractAdults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) often receive self-management support from adult children, siblings or close friends residing outside of their home. However, the role of out-of-home support in patients ’ self-management and well-being is unclear. Patients (N = 313) with HbA1c >  7.5% were recruited from community primary care clinics for a mobile health intervention trial and identified an out-of-home informal support person, herein called a CarePartner; 38% also had an in-home supporter. We tested cross-sectional adjusted associations between CarePartner relationship ch aracteristics and patients’ self-management, diabetes distress, and HbA1c and whether having an in-home supporter modified these associations. Greater CarePartner closeness was associated with a greater odds of perfect medication adherence (AOR = 1.19,p  =  .029), more fruit/vegetable intake (β = 0.14,p  =  .018), and lower diabetes distress (β = − 0.14,p  =  .012). More frequent CarePartner contact was associated withbetter HbA1c among patients with an in-home supporter but withworse HbA1c among patients without an in-home supporter (interaction β = − 0.45,p  =  .005). Emotional closeness with a CarePartner may be important for supporting T2DM self-management and reducing diabetes distress. CarePartners may appropriately engage more frequently when patients with no in-home supporter have poorly controlled diabetes.
Source: Journal of Behavioral Medicine - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research