Abstract
Background: In management of diabetes, self-care plays an important role in prevention of complications.
This study aims to find the proportion of diabetic patients following the recommended
self-care practices in an urban area of Puducherry. Materials and Methods: Consecutive eligible patients registered in chronic disease clinic were interviewed
using Summary of Diabetes Self Care Activities Score (SDSCA) questionnaire. Self-care
practices were evaluated in domains of diet, physical activity, foot-care, adherence
to medications and blood glucose monitoring. All domains were scored from the range
of 0 to 7. Results: Totally 162 diabetic patients were interviewed. The mean (SD) age of participants
was 57 (11.1) yrs. Among all domains, adherence to medication was the highest (95.6
%) followed by avoidance of selected food items (99.4%). Almost 78% of patients had
their blood sugar checked at least once in the last three months. Only half of them
(50.6%) had followed at least 20 minutes of leisure time physical activity. Except
washing of foot (83.3%) all other foot care practices were less commonly (35-57%)
followed. Conclusion: The study shows that higher level of compliance to self-care practices in terms of
taking drugs and diet but self-care in other domains such as foot care is alarmingly
low.
Compliance - diabetes - diabetes self care - diabetic foot care - summary of diabetes
self-care activities (SDSCA) score
