Diabetes Self-Management Among Healthcare Providers in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM), a chronic metabolic disease, is a rising global concern with significant social, economic, and health implications. Proper glycemic control is crucial to guarantee protection against these implications such as micro and macrovascular complications. To achieve proper glycemic control, patients' self-management is probably the most essential component, and the development of appropriate self-management behaviors which include medication adherence and lifestyle modifications improves the prognosis and the incidence of DM complications. Objective The aim of the study is to examine diabetes self-management and control of diabetic healthcare providers from different specialties working at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Design and setting This is a cross-sectional pilot study carried out in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, using a pre-validated self-administered questionnaire that was “Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire” (DSMQ), which examined diabetes management and control within the last two months. The questionnaire was distributed to the healthcare providers of all specialties at the site of the study. Correlations and descriptive analyses were carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, USA). Results The total number of participants was 370 healthcare providers (100% response rate). It was found that 26 (7%) of them had diabetes (92.3% of them with type 2 diabetes). The diabetic participants’ mean age was 48.58±7.3 years old. 42.3% were applied medical sciences specialists, with 38.5% having years of experience between 16 to 20 years old. 26.3% were Saudi nationals. The mean HbA1c levels among diabetic patients were 6±1.03%, ranging between (5.1%-9%). There was a significant inverse relationship between each section's scores and total scores with the HbA1c levels (p-value<0.05). Total scores for adherence were significantly higher among the age group (51 to 60) (p-value=0.03) and physicians (p-value=0.035). Dietary control was significantly better among age group (51 to 60) (p-value=0.015), and type 2 diabetes (p-value=0.022). Physician contact was significantly higher in the age group (51 to 60) (p-value=0.027). Physical activity was significantly higher among physicians (p-value=0.030). Blood glucose monitoring was significantly better among the age group (above 60) (p-value=0.026), males (p-value=0.03), and physicians (p-value=0.039). Conclusion The findings suggest the glycemic control and adherence to treatment among diabetic healthcare providers in KAMC-Riyadh are adequate the findings suggest the glycemic control and adherence to treatment among diabetic healthcare providers in KAMC-Riyadh are adequate. Future studies with an adequate sample size are essential to assess diabetes self-management and identify if there is any obstacle toward better compliance in healthcare providers.