Affiliation:
1. Chungnam National University College of Nursing, Daejeon, Republic of Korea (Prof Song, Mrs Park)
2. Yale University, School of Nursing, West Haven, CT, USA (Dr Nam)
3. Jeon-Ju University Department of Education, Jellabukdo, Republic of Korea (Prof Shin)
4. Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea (Dr Ku)
Abstract
Purpose This meta-analysis examined relationships between social support and self-care in type 1 (T1DM) and 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods We searched for published and unpublished studies using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, and Medline. MeSH search terms included “diabetes mellitus,” “social support,” “caregiver,” “self-care,” “self-management,” “self-care skills,” and “coping behavior.” Studies reporting correlations between social support and self-care were included. Results Initially, 2 095 studies were extracted. After eliminating duplicate and irrelevant studies, 28 studies involving 5 242 patients with diabetes were included. Of these, 22 studies examined T2DM subjects. Social support was significantly associated with self-care ( k = 28, r = .28, 95% CI: .21-.34, P < .001). Among the diabetes self-care types, the strongest effect was found for glucose monitoring ( k = 6, r = .21, 95% CI: .08-.33). The relationship between social support and self-care was stronger in T2DM ( k = 22, r = .30, 95% CI: .22-.37), relative to T1DM, samples ( k = 5, r = .22, 95% CI: .02-.38). Conclusion It was concluded that the overall effect size for social support on self-care was moderate, and its strength differed by ethnic majority within the sample, type of social support measures, and publication status.
Funder
National Institutes of Health
National Research Foundation
Subject
Health Professions (miscellaneous),Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism