Self-care Behavior and Associated Factors among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients with Peripheral Neuropathy Symptoms: A Mixed-Methods Study

This study aimed to explore perceptions, experiences, barriers, and support in performing self-care and to find out the factors associated with the self-care behavior of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. This exploration study used a two-phase sequential mixed-methods approach. A total of 12 participants were involved in Phase 1 (the qualitative study), with data analysis using the Colaizzi model steps. A total of 118 patients with T2DM were involved in Phase 2. Bivariate data analysis used Spearman correlation tests with a 95% confidence interval and significance set at p<0.05. Five themes were found in Phase 1 of the study: perceptions of diabetes self-management, blood sugar control efforts, blood sugar control barriers, perceived disturbances, and social support. A total of 59% of diabetes self-care behaviors were below the median. Significant correlations were found between diabetes self-care behavior and self-efficacy (p =0.000; r =0.662), quality of life (p =0.003; r =0.270), and family support (p =0.000; r =0.490). The self-care behavior of T2DM patients with symptoms of peripheral neuropathy was mostly poor. Self-efficacy, quality of life, and family support were related to self-care behavior. Appropriate, accessible, and sustainable program support is needed from policymakers to improve self-care behavior and related factors in T2DM patients with symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, self-care behavior, mixed-methods study