Objective: A quantitative evaluation of self-care behaviors, psychosocial stressors, and patient relationships to health care to better understand racial disparities in these domains.
Research design and methods: A cross-sectional study of adult patients with type 2 diabetes in University of Pennsylvania Healthcare System who had a HbA1c test within one month of survey administration. The survey instrument included among other items, the Dieter's Inventory of Eating Temptations Self-Efficacy instrument (DIET-SE), the Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS), and the Trust in Physician (TIP) scale.
Results: 332 individuals completed the survey. Poor glucose control was significantly associated with Black race, lower income level, other demographic variables, non-perfect medication adherence, and poorer diet quality. It was also associated with lower self-efficacy to resist social dietary temptations, and among White patients it was associated was decreased use of a confrontive coping style. However, these factors did not explain the racial differences in glucose control between Blacks and Whites.
Conclusions: Interventions aimed at dietary temptations, coping styles, or trust in physicians may not reduce racial disparities in glucose control. However, interventions that focus on dietary temptations may positively affect all diabetic patients.