Document Type : Original Article
Authors
School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Abstract
The present paper is an initiative to assess self-care practices of the deadly disease diabetes among the members of the self-help group in the Jashore district of Bangladesh. Generally speaking, type 2 diabetes is the mother of all illnesses, and self-care practices such as blood sugar monitoring, nutrition control, physical activity, medication adherence, and foot care are the cornerstones of its treatment. However, in under-developed nations like Bangladesh, where the cases are more prevalent, a limited study is being conducted and there is a lack of understanding about self-care. The study’s aim was to investigate the self-care practices of type II diabetics among the members of self-help groups in Bangladesh, so as to assess the relationship between self-care practices and blood sugar levels among members of self-help groups in Bangladesh as well as to add to the existing knowledge. The data indicates that education, reading level, economic status, desire to control diabetes, lack of information about diabetes and its complications, and self-care habits in the research region have a direct association.
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Introduction
Type II diabetes is a growing clinical and public health problem; it is the most dangerous disease and has a severe impact on our lives. It is a prominent cause of mortality in recent times. It is described as a group of common metabolic abnormalities which result in hyperglycemia as a phenotype. The low insulin secretion, decreased glucose use, and increased glucose production are all contributing reasons to hyperglycemia. This is one of the most common causes of blindness as well as coronary heart disease [1]. According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reports in 2019, the projected diabetes population by the end of 2030 and 2045 is expected to be 578.4 million and 700.2 million, respectively [2]. Despite all the efforts, the patients may have high blood sugar, which leads to self-care practices, where the diabetic people take care to maintain the optimal health conditions [3]. In the case of diabetes patients, the objective of self-care treatment is to avoid the diabetes-related complications. The diabetes leads to mortality, loss of productiveness. However, this can be taken care of by regular exercise, monitoring blood sugar, and following the advice of the doctors [4]. Patients, who have better self-care practices, live longer, enjoy a better quality of life and face fewer complications in their life as compared to non-self-care practitioners [5]. According to WHO data, this illness has already afflicted 285 million people and is the leading cause of 3.2 million fatalities. Six people die every minute and 8700 people die per day, with these numbers expected to rise by 42 percent and 70 percent in industrialized and developing nations, respectively, by 2030 [6]. This leads to the higher healthcare expenses, as well as a slew of life-threatening problems such as diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, peripheral neuropathy, cardiovascular disease, diabetic foot, and peripheral artery disease [7]. Previous research revealed the lack of self-care habits [8-11].
In Bangladesh, a growing pandemic of nosocomial lifestyle illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer has emerged. The major reason for this is due to the demographic shifts, rising obesity rates, and the embrace of Western civilization [13]. As per the IDF research from 2011, Bangladesh has an estimated 8.4 million diabetic patients, which is anticipated to quadruple by 2030 [14]. Diabetes is more common in urban regions of Bangladesh than in rural areas [12].
Depression has been associated with hyperglycemia and diabetes-related comorbidities including ophthalmology, nephropathy, neurotoxicity, and macro vascular problems in patients with T2DM [15]. The well-being of those patients with T2DM diabetes and their quality of life may be negatively impacted when personal attempts to alleviate these problems fail to perform as planned, or when diabetes complications take a toll on both physical and mental health [16].
Furthermore, data suggests that patients with T2DM may have a higher risk of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic due to an increased risk of death and morbidity from COVID-19 infection [17]. Bangladesh has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 773,513 confirmed cases and