The Influence of Family Caregiver Knowledge and Behavior on Elderly Diabetic Patients’ Quality of Life in Northern Thailand

Abstract

The quality of life (QoL) of elderly diabetic patients may be affected by caregiver factors, but this has received little empirical support. The objective of this cross-sectional study is to determine the influence of family caregivers’ diabetes knowledge and behavior on the QoL among elderly patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The participants included 354 elderly patients with Type 2 DM and their family caregivers, who were recruited through multistage sampling from five districts in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Face-to-face interviews with DM patients were conducted using the Thai Simplified Diabetes Knowledge Scale (T-SDKS), the Thai version of the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) for self-care behaviors, and the Thai version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life for Older People (WHOQOL-OLD) scale. For caregivers, their diabetes knowledge was measured by T-SDKS and patient-care or supportive behaviors were developed based on DSMQ. The results showed a moderate level of QoL among elderly diabetic patients. According to simple linear regression analysis, the QoL score among elderly DM patients was positively associated with their diabetes knowledge (B = 1.25), self-care behaviors (B = 3.00), caregivers’ knowledge (B = 0.97), and supportive behavior from caregivers (B = 2.92) at a significance level of p < 0.01. In the multivariable model, patients’ self-care behaviors (B = 1.58, p = 0.001), caregivers’ knowledge (B = 0.58, p = 0.001), and patient-care behaviors (B = 1.38, p = 0.004) were significantly associated with QoL among DM patients when controlling for patient factors, including age, body mass index (BMI), education, and living arrangements, which accounted for 27.0% of the variance. This indicates that caregivers’ adequate diabetes knowledge and appropriate supportive behaviors may impact the QoL of elderly diabetic patients. Health care providers should prioritize motivating and empowering family caregivers to pay more attention to the patient for the success goal.

Association between Perceived Protection Motivation, Preventive Behaviors, and Biomarkers among Diabetic Patients in Rural Areas of Thailand

“…A previous study mentioned that having knowledge of diabetes can help with early detection and reduce complications; furthermore, the level of knowledge among at-risk populations is associated with better health outcomes [15]. A statistically significant relationship between DM knowledge and self-care behaviors was found among T2DM patients in Northern Thailand (r = 0.344) [16]. According to a study of diabetic Koreans, cognitive factors were important, and individuals with a high knowledge of kidney disease were more likely to have good preventive and self-care behaviors to prevent complications [17].…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Diabetes Self-Management in Saudi Arabia

“…It has been validated, translated into many languages (including Arabic), and used in the Gulf region (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman) [ 16 , 17 , 19 , 20 ]. The DSMQ has been utilized extensively in various settings, contexts, and countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Spain, Thailand, and the United States of America [ 19 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Some of the highest scores have been published in the German (7.8) and Chinese (7.79) populations, and lower scores have been reported in the United Kingdom (4.14) and Pakistan (3.96) [ 8 , 34 , 35 , 36 ].…”

The relationship between family burden, environment, and quality of life among caregivers of older adults with chronic diseases: a cross-sectional study

“…Additionally, a correlation was observed between the burden and QoL (Tulek et al, 2020). The QoL of senior diabetic patients may be impacted by the family caregiver's knowledge of diabetes and suitable supportive actions (Thongduang et al, 2022). Non-spouse carers of older adults scored the worst in terms of their sex lives, help from others, and personal relationships under the social relationships category QoL (Bierhals et al, 2019).…”