Association of stress management behavior and diabetic self-care Practice among Diabetes Type II Patients in North Shoa Zone: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The cornerstone of managing diabetes is diabetic self-care behaviors, however many people with diabetes do not engage in enough of these actions. Effective stress management behaviors have a positive effect on diabetes self-care. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between diabetic self-care behaviors and stress-coping behaviors in patients with type II diabetes. Method: A facility-based cross-sectional study was undertaken in the North Shoa zone from February 24 to March 25, 2022. The study involved 432 types II diabetic patients who were chosen at random from eight public hospitals. Data were entered into Epi Data V.3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Data for continuous variables were reported as means of standard deviations and percentages for categorical variables. Descriptive statistic was used to summarize study variables. Binary logistic regression models were used to assess associations between sociodemographic variables, stress-coping behaviors, and self-care behaviors. In a bivariable analysis, variables with p-values less than 0.20 were put into a multivariable logistic regression model. A p-value ≤ 0.05 and an OR with a 95% CI are considered statistically significant associations. Result: A total of 432 patients with type II diabetes participated with a response rate of 98%. Stress-coping behavior was observed in nearly half of the patients (51.2; 95% CI; (46.5, 55.6). The study found that stress management behavior was associated with diabetes self-care (X2, 17.7; p0.0001). Patients with good stress management behavior (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI = (1.3, 3.0)), good perception (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI = (1.5, 3.4)), and family support (AOR = 2.3, 95% CI = (1.5, 3.6)) were more likely to conduct diabetes self-care. Conclusion: This study shows that stress management behaviors and coping techniques are associated with self-care behavior and lead to significant improvements in diabetes self-care practices. Stress management and coping skills should be included in current systems as a common therapeutic service/treatment and diabetes care practitioners should consider these factors when discussing diabetes self-management during consultations.