Time spent on health related activity by older Australians with diabetes

Abstract

AimsThere is little information available about what people do to look after their health, or how long people spend on health activities. This study identifies key health related activities and time taken as part of self management by people with diabetes. Management planning often lacks information that this study provides that would help clinicians and patients to create manageable and do-able plans that patients can follow.MethodsData were collected in 2010 using a national survey of people aged 50 years the National Diabetes Services Scheme. Respondents provided recall data on time used for personal health care, non-clinical health activity; and health service interactions. Data were analysed using Stata 12 and SPSS 19.ResultsWhile most people with diabetes spend on average less than 30 minutes a day on health-related activities (excluding exercise), the highest decile of respondents averaged over 100 minutes. Time spent increased with the number of co-existent conditions. Taking medication and sitting in waiting rooms were the most frequently reported activities. The greatest amount of time was spent on daily personal health care activities.ConclusionThe time demands of diabetes for older people can be substantial. Better patient engagement in self management might result from a better match in care planning between the illness demands and the patient time availability, with potential to reduce admissions for hospital care.

Time spent on self‐management by people with diabetes: results from the population‐based KORA survey in Germany

“…Yen et al . collected participants’ recall data on time used for personal health care (on most days), non‐clinical health activities (in the past month) and health service interactions (in the past month). Importantly, the questionnaire used by Yen et al .…”

“…Safford et al [10] and Ettner et al [11] applied a recall method estimating time spent on selected diabetes self-care activities (foot care, exercising and shopping for/preparing food) on a typical day. Yen et al [12] collected participants' recall data on time used for personal health care (on most days), non-clinical health activities (in the past month) and health service interactions (in the past month). Importantly, the questionnaire used by Yen et al measured total time spent on health-related activities, including self-care, by people with chronic diseases rather than time required specifically to address diabetes self-management [12,22].…”

“…Yen et al [12] collected participants' recall data on time used for personal health care (on most days), non-clinical health activities (in the past month) and health service interactions (in the past month). Importantly, the questionnaire used by Yen et al measured total time spent on health-related activities, including self-care, by people with chronic diseases rather than time required specifically to address diabetes self-management [12,22]. There is, nevertheless, rather consistent evidence that most people with diabetes do spend time on self-management activities, that many activities require substantial time investments, and that the total time required for health-related activities is very high among some participants.…”

“…Only a few studies have analysed time spent on diabetes self-management. [5,[10][11][12]. Safford et al [10] performed a cross-sectional study of people with diabetes in three US managed care plans.…”

How Much Time Do Families Spend on the Health Care of Children with Diabetes?

“…Given that the burden of self-care of diabetes is substantial even for adults [5, 39], perhaps improving diabetes management for youth via such mechanisms at age-appropriate levels can reduce the time burden of self-care for adults further down the road.…”