Social support as a predictor in the Self-management of people with Type 2 Diabetes

Introduction: The family is the main source of support in those people who are living a stressful situation; provides help of a psychological and non-psychological nature, and whose purpose is for the person to face the stressful situation. Objective: To investigate perceived family support and sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of Self-Management in people with type 2 diabetes. Method: Quantitative study with correlational, cross-sectional design. Simple random sample of n = 103 participants. Measurement instruments: The Diabetes Self-Control Questionnaire and the Social Support Scale for Self-management in middle-aged patients with type II diabetes. The information was collected from January to July 2018. Results: The average age was 61.75 years (SD = 11.98, R = 20-84); 67% of the participants are female; 69% have completed secondary school and 13.6% have a high school education; 53.4% have low income. A moderate negative relationship (r = -. 334, p <0.01) is observed between the last visit to the doctor and Self-management of diabetes; a positive and moderate relationship (r = .378, p <0.01) between Diabetes Self-Management and Social Support. Predictive analysis found the last medical visit (beta = -. 949, p = 001) and Family Support (beta = -. 802, p = 001) as significant predictors of Self-Management behaviors, explained in 10.3% of the variance. Conclusion: Family support was one of the predictive factors to carry out self-management actions in people with type 2 diabetes.