Resilience and diabetes self-management among African-American men receiving primary care at an urban safety-net hospital: a cross-sectional survey

Jenny Jia*, Andrew J. Jenkins, Lisa M. Quintiliani, Ve Truong, Karen E. Lasser

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Resilience is the ability to adapt to adverse life events. Studies that explore diabetes self-management interventions integrating resilience in African-Americans with diabetes include few African-American men, who have higher diabetes-related mortality and complication rates compared to African-American women. Design: We conducted a cross-sectional study of African-American men with uncontrolled diabetes living in diabetes hotspots. We measured resilience levels using the General Self Efficacy Scale (GSES), adherence to diabetes self-management behaviors using the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ), and incarceration history by phone survey. We categorized participants as higher or lower resilience level and higher or lower adherence to diabetes self-management behaviors. Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined the relationship between resilience and adherence to diabetes self-management behaviors. Our model accounted for potential confounders, including age, incarceration history, and socioeconomic factors. Results: Of 234 patients contacted by mail and phone, 94 (40.2%) completed the survey. Mean age was 60.6 years, 59.5% reported an annual household income of less than $20,000, and 29.8% reported a history of incarceration. The mean unadjusted GSES score was 25.0 (sd 5.2; range: 0–30, higher scores indicate greater resilience), and the mean DSMQ score was 7.34 (sd 1.78; range: 0–10, higher scores indicate greater adherence to diabetes self-management behaviors). In multivariable analyses, higher levels of resilience were associated with higher adherence to diabetes self-management behaviors (aOR = 9.68, 95% CI 3.01, 31.12). History of incarceration was negatively associated with higher adherence to diabetes self-management behaviors (aOR = 0.23, 95% CI 0.06, 0.81). Conclusions: Resilience and personal history of incarceration are associated with adherence to diabetes self-management behaviors among African-American men residing in diabetes hotspots. Future interventions should incorporate resilience training to improve diabetes self-management behaviors. At a societal level, social determinants of health that adversely affect African-American men, such as structural racism and mass incarceration, need to be eliminated.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1178-1187
Number of pages10
JournalEthnicity and Health
Volume27
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Funding

This work was supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [grant number 5R25HL118693-07].

Keywords

  • African-American men
  • Diabetes
  • diabetes self-management
  • resilience

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Cultural Studies
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

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