Abstract
Purpose and Background
The relationship between risk perceptions and diabetes self-care remains ambiguous. This study aimed to assess baseline, 1-year follow-up, and change score relationships among perceived risk, diabetes self-care, and glycemic control for adult individuals participating in a behavioral intervention that improved glycemic control relative to the active control.
Method
One-year randomized trial compared a behavioral telephonic intervention with a print only intervention. Participants (N = 526) are members of a union/employer sponsored health benefit plan, with HbA1c ≥ 7.5 %, prescribed at least one oral diabetes medication. Participants rated perceived risk of diabetes and its complications and diabetes self-care at baseline and 1 year. Data were collected in a large urban area in the USA.
Results
There were no relationships between risk perceptions and glycemic control during the study. Baseline perceived risk predicted follow-up self-care. Additionally, participants assigned to the intervention group showed significant changes in dietary and exercise adherence at high levels of risk knowledge and low levels of optimistic bias.
Conclusion
Perceived risk relates to dietary, exercise, and medication adherence in diabetes. The perceived risk construct might foster a more coherent conceptualization of the relationship between one’s diabetes, possible complications, and diabetes self-care behaviors.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by NIH grants R18 DK62038 and DK020541. Parts of this study were presented in poster form at the 32nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, DC, USA, 27–30 April 2011. We gratefully acknowledge the data management contributions of Fionnuala King of the 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds; the talented health educators, including Giovanna DiFrancesca, Kathleen McCabe, Gisela Mojica, Jennifer Case, Tara DeWitt, Gabriel Ferreira, Marlene Taveras, Samara Lipsky, Dr. Hollie Jones, and Hector Cariello; data management support from Maria Kalten and Jennifer Lukin, all staff from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and especially, the participants in New York City who volunteered for the study.
Conflicts of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. The authors have full control of all primary data, and we agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested.
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Shreck, E., Gonzalez, J.S., Cohen, H.W. et al. Risk Perception and Self-Management in Urban, Diverse Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: The Improving Diabetes Outcomes Study. Int.J. Behav. Med. 21, 88–98 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-013-9291-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-013-9291-4