Effects of sociodemographic and health factors on the self-management of non-communicable diseases among Chilean adults during the Covid-19 pandemic

Individuals with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are potentially at increased vulnerability during the Covid-19 pandemic and require additional help to reduce risk. Self-management is one effective strategy and this study investigated the effect of sociodemographic and health factors on the self-management of some non-communicable diseases, namely hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, among Chilean adults during the Covid-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional telephone survey was carried out on 910 participants with NCDs, from Santiago, Chile. An adapted and validated version of the “Partners in Health” scale was used to measure self-management. Exploratory Factor analysis yielded five dimensions of this scale: Disease Knowledge, Healthcare Team Relationship, General Self-Management and Daily Routines, Drug Access and Intake, and Monitoring and Decision-Making. The average of these dimensions was calculated to create a new variable Self-Management Mean, which was used as a dependent variable together with the five separate dimensions. Independent variables included age, gender, years of schooling, number of diseases, the percentage of Multidimensional Poverty Index in the commune of residence, and self-rated health status. Beta regressions and ANOVA for the Beta regression residuals were utilized for analyses. Beta regression model explained 8.1% of the variance in Self-Management Mean. Age, years of schooling, number of diseases and self-rated health status were statistically associated with Self-Management Mean and dimensions related to daily routines and health decision making, such as Disease Knowledge, General Self-Management and Daily Routines, and Monitoring and Decision-Making. Gender and the percentage of Multidimensional Poverty Index in the commune of residence were insignificant. Strategies for self-management of NCDs during a crisis should consider age, years of schooling, number of diseases, and self-rated health status in their design.