Abstract
Background:
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition requiring strict self-care practices, including medication adherence, blood glucose monitoring, dietary control, physical activity, and foot care. Despite available guidelines, many patients struggle with consistent self-management due to personal, social, and systemic barriers. Social support from family, peers, and healthcare providers is recognized as a key factor that can enhance self-care behaviors and improve diabetes outcomes. Understanding the relationship between social support and diabetes self-care is critical to developing effective interventions, particularly in resource-limited settings.
Aim:
The study aimed to assess the role of social support in overcoming challenges in diabetes self-care management among patients attending tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar.
Methods:
A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed. The study included 100 adult participants with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, recruited using convenience sampling from two tertiary care hospitals. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics, self-care practices, and social support measures. Descriptive statistics, frequencies, percentages, and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated using SPSS version 25 to assess the relationship between social support and self-care behaviors.
Results:
Findings indicated that 60% of participants reported moderate social support, while 25% reported high support. Self-care practices were moderate for most participants, with blood glucose monitoring and medication adherence showing higher adherence compared to physical activity and foot care. Significant positive correlations were observed between overall social support and self-care behaviors (r = 0.60, p < 0.001), with emotional support showing the strongest association.
Conclusion:
Social support plays a vital role in enhancing diabetes self-care practices. Interventions focusing on emotional, informational, and practical support from family, peers, and healthcare providers are recommended to improve adherence and health outcomes.