Unmet Needs for Social Support and Effects on Diabetes Self-care Activities in Korean Americans With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Objective-The purpose of this study was (1) to characterize the primary sources of social support and the extent of unmet needs for support (defined as the gap between social support needs and the receipt of social support) in a sample of Korean Americans (KAs) with type 2 diabetes and (2) to examine the effect of unmet needs for support on their self-care activities.Methods-Baseline data obtained from a community-based intervention trial were used for this study of 83 middle-aged KAs with type 2 diabetes. Study design and data analysis were guided by social cognitive theory. The key variables were dictated the order of the variables in multivariate regression analysis.Results-Our findings indicated that for diabetic KAs, the primary source of social support differed according to gender. Unmet needs for support were significantly associated with self-care activities, but the amount of support needs and of social support received were not. Multivariate analysis also confirmed that unmet needs for social support are a significant strong predictor of inadequate type 2 diabetes self-care activities, after controlling for other covariates. The hierarchical regression model explained about 30% of total variance in self-care activities.Conclusions-The findings highlight the importance of considering unmet needs for social support when addressing self-care activities in type 2 diabetes patients. Future interventions should focus on filling gaps in social support and tailoring approaches according to key determinants, such as gender or education level, to improve self-care activities in the context of type 2 diabetes care.Effective self-care is a crucial determinant in improving the health outcomes of people with type 2 diabetes. 1-4 Diabetes self-care activities include multiple domains, such as adherence to treatment regimens, engaging in regular exercise, and monitoring glucose levels. Individuals' self-care activities often occur in a social setting, and support received from an individual's social network can provide coping strategies on a daily basis, enabling a person with diabetes to adhere to treatment regimens. 1,5 Social support has been considered as a major factor influencing health outcomes, 6,7 and the availability of social support affects an individual's capacity to adapt self-care activities associated with type 2 diabetes. 1,5 Despite an increasing awareness of the importance of social support in chronic disease management, however, the state of science in the field of social support still lacks theoretical specificity that can be useful to clinicians and Because the social support construct is inherently embedded in cultural and situational contexts, efforts to uncover various aspects of social support and the underlying key determinants that interact with the construct in each ethnic group constitute a worthwhile approach to improving translational science in this area. For example, according to a study by Rubin and Peyrot, social support satisfaction is negatively related to individuals' sel...

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