Empowering adult patients with diabetes for health educators' role within their family members: A cross-sectional study

Background Patient engagement as partners in diabetes prevention for family members/close relatives is a novel and underexplored approach. This paper aims to assess patients' willingness and confidence in their ability to succeed as health educators for their family members and investigate the influencing factors. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between January 2023 and April 2023. A newly developed and validated self-reported questionnaire, based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) and previous research, was administered to a convenient sample of 134 adult participants diagnosed with diabetes. These participants sought care at primary healthcare clinics at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs in Riyadh and Jeddah (MNGHA). The data was examined using statistical methods including descriptive analysis, ANOVA, Tukey's HSD (Honestly Significant Difference) Post Hoc tests, and Pearson's correlation coefficients. Results The majority of participants expressed a willingness to assume the role of health educators for their family members (n = 117, 87.31%) and reported a high level of willingness and confidence, as indicated by self-efficacy scores ranging from 12.00 to 25.00, with a mean of 21.12 (SD = 2.76). Participants' willingness to be health educators exhibited positive correlations with their perceptions of diabetes severity and susceptibility (r = .433, p < .01), perceived benefits and barriers (r = .451, p < .01), cues to action (r = .520, p < .01), self-efficacy (r = .789, p < .01), and the total score of the questionnaire (r = .640, p < .01). Conclusions The majority of participants expressed their willingness to assume the role of health educators for their family members, and a significant portion reported confidence in their capacity to accomplish this objective. Healthcare providers should emphasize the importance of equipping patients with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively convey health messages and serve as health educators within their communities. This expansion of the approach holds the potential to have a significant impact on public health strategies for diabetes prevention.