Health Beliefs of People with Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Health Care in Muscat, Oman: A Qualitative Approach

Abstract

Background: With recent affluence, Oman has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of Omani nationals with type 2 diabetes. Most national studies have focused on quantifying the magnitude of the problem, and issues related to co-morbidity. The purpose of this study was to explore the health beliefs associated with diabetes self-management among adult Omani patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This study employed the Health Belief Model (HBM) as the theoretical framework. A structured open-ended interview question guide was developed based on the constructs of the HBM and based on literature regarding various factors associated with diabetes management. The study was conducted in seven conveniently selected Primary Health Care (PHC) centers in the Muscat Governorate. In total 29 patients with type 2 diabetes were invited at convenience, while visiting the centers for regular follow ups, to participate and were interviewed based on written consents. Results: Applying the HBM with this group of patients indicated to six factors as barriers to diabetes self-care: (1) cost of self-monitoring for blood glucose level, (2) social interactions, (3) negative feelings associated with living with the disease, (4) lack of accurate practical and culturally-sensitive health education about diet and exercise, (5) fatalism, and (6) low self-efficacy. Diabetes self-management education was not valued and a large number (19/29) did not actively seek information about diabetes. Conclusion:The findings here point to the urgent need for a culturally appropriate diabetes education program with respected to the health beliefs indicated here.

Attitudes, Knowledge, and Perceptions of Patients Regarding Type-2 Diabetes in Jordan

“…They emphasized more the short-term effects of medications rather than the long-term benefits to avoid diabetes complications. Similar findings were reported in Oman [22].…”

Conversation with Diabetic Mellitus II Patients: A Grounded Theory Research

“…Using evidence generated from research makes nurses' practice reliable and effective [19]. By using HBM, useful insights are easy to collect from DM-II patients [20].…”

Validity and Reliability of the Newly Developed Malay-Language Health Belief of Bloating (HB-Bloat) Scale

“…The fit indices of the model were assessed using a standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) lower than 0.06 indicating a perfect fit [23], the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) less than 0.08 suggested a reasonably good fit [21], and relative fit indices like the Tucker-Lewis Fit Index (TLI) and Comparative Fit Index (CFI), where a cut-off point of 0.92 indicated an acceptable model fit [29][30][31][32][33].…”

“…It is based on the manipulation of three core aspects in order to increase the chance of action or intention including attitude (favor of behavior), subjective norm (social pressure to act in a certain way) and perceived behavioral control (power that controls action) [22]. Behavior, the central core in the TPB model, acts on the principle of compatibility [23] instead of general behavior. Previous studies indicate that TPB helps in ensuring the compliance of patients with treatment guidelines [22].…”

“…Based on our literature search, we found limited questionnaires related to AB, that were mainly focused on measuring the severity of the symptoms and quality of life. The available health belief scale used in the medical and health settings was still limited, and it varied between different symptoms or diseases, and most of them are not suitable to measure health belief related to AB [19,[23][24][25]. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new scale to measure the health belief related to AB for use in future studies and medical intervention.…”