Experiences of Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Carrying Out Self-Care During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

The COVID-19 pandemic causes additional struggles for patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in performing self-care. This study explores in-depth the experiences of patients with DM in carrying out self-care during the pandemic of COVID-19. This type of research was qualitative research with a phenomenological approach. The number of participants in the phenomenological study were patients with DM at the Keputih Surabaya Health Center with ten people. The determination of participants is determined using the purposive sampling technique. The collecting data through in-depth interview techniques online and offline. Data analysis used the Van Manen method. There are five themes related to the self-care behavior of patients with DM during the COVID-19 pandemic in this study, namely: poor diabetic diet, absence of physical activity, impaired monitoring of blood glucose levels, change of medication pattern, and absence of foot care. The self-care behavior of DM patients during the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased. This condition can increase blood glucose levels which can lead to complications. Nurses and family members are required to monitor the implementation of self-care for DM patients during the pandemic. The results of this study can be used as a basis for determining self-care methods with strict health protocols.