Information-Seeking Behavior and Its Associated Factors Among Patients with Diabetes in a Resource-Limited Country: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. The burden of diabetes mellitus is increasing rapidly in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Diabetes information seeking is essential for patients with diabetes to better manage and control their diabetes. However, information seeking about disease prevention and treatment is low in developing countries. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the diabetes information-seeking behavior and its associated factors among patients with diabetes in Debre Markos Referral Hospital, Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional quantitative study supplemented with a qualitative study was conducted among 423 subjects from March to April 2019. A structured questionnaire and in-depth interview were used to collect the required data from the study subjects. The data were entered using Epi Info version 7.2.2. Data processing and analysis were conducted using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model were used for the quantitative study, and thematic content analysis was used for the qualitative study. The significance test cut-off value for bivariate analysis was P<0.2 and the cut-off value for multivariate analysis was P<0.05. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to interpret the results. RESULTS: Out of 423 study participants, only 41.6% of patients with diabetes were diabetes information seekers. After adjusting all other factors in the final model, educational status, place of residence, comorbidity and health literacy were significantly associated with diabetes information seeking. CONCLUSION: This study result indicates that the overall prevalence of information seeking among patients with diabetes toward diabetes was low. Having higher educational status, urban place of residence, the presence of comorbidity and adequate health literacy level increased the likelihood of diabetes information-seeking behavior among patients with diabetes.