Understanding Self-Management Patterns of Type-2 Diabetes: Evidence from Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics of Patients Utilizing Healthcare Facilities in Ondo Town

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is an issue of significant global public health concern. Despite increasing research on prevalence and management practices of diabetes in Nigeria, there remains critical gaps in understanding how demographic and socioeconomic factors mutually influence self-management, particularly within urban facility-based contexts in Nigeria. This study was cross-sectional descriptive survey that adopted multistage sampling technique. Using the k th systematical sampling method, 150 participants were recruited. The study population was adult living with type-2 diabetes, and utilizing health care facilities in Ondo town. The outcome variable was diabetes management patterns. The dependent variables were demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the participants. Stata version 17 was employed and statistical significance was established at p<0.05. Results showed that level of diabetes self-management among the participants was found to be moderate (22.75±5.22 out of a possible 36), while 48% of the participants practiced poor self- management patterns. The results further showed that demographic and socioeconomic factors, such as age, ethnicity and place of residence, financial constraints, household income and health insurance were significantly associated with self-management patterns among type-2 diabetes participants (p<0.05). The study found a moderate overall level of diabetes self-management, which aligns with trends observed in similar low-resource settings. However, self-management was not uniform across all domains. This study concluded that the subsidizing diabetes care, wider access to health insurance and integration of diabetes education into primary healthcare are crucial measures to improving diabetes self- management in Ondo town.