The cultural beliefs and practices of diabetes self-management in Javanese diabetic patients: An ethnographic study

BACKGROUND: It is important to assess the cultural beliefs and practices of diabetic patients since such beliefs and practices greatly influence how patients self-manage the disease. However, how cultural beliefs and practices affect self-management in Javanese diabetic patients in Indonesia is still unclear since research about it is very limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the cultural beliefs and practices of diabetes self-management in Javanese diabetic patients. METHODS: An ethnographic study was conducted between July 2020 and March 2021 in Banyumas Regency, Indonesia. Forty-seven participants were included, consisting of 36 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients as key informants and 11 family members and health providers as general informants. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used, and data was collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and the writing of field notes. The data were analyzed by thematic analyses using NVivo 12 software. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) misconception about diabetes and management, such as the belief of there being dry sugar and wet sugar types of diabetes; the belief that consuming a lot of cold rice does not increase blood glucose; the belief that insulin causes organ damage; the belief that diabetes can be completely cured; and the belief that walking barefoot is good for the body; (2) cultural beliefs and practices regarding treatment regimen, such as use of medicinal plants to lower blood glucose and home remedies to treat foot ulcers; (3) coping influenced by a blend of culture and religion, such as managing stress by submitting to God and being patients in dealing with their disease; (4) cultural influence on diet management, such as facing difficulties managing their diets at cultural events and difficulties managing the habit of eating sweet-tasting food. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to show that Javanese culture strongly influences how diabetic patients in Java self-manage their disease. Various aspects of Javanese culture were found to have either beneficial or detrimental effects on diabetic patients’ health status. This study provides new insights for nurses in Indonesia and will help them design a culturally sensitive education program for their diabetic patients.