Su Won Park

ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0001-6911-2834

Graduation Semester and Year

2020

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Donelle M Barnes

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is becoming an increasingly common disease with aging. As the prevalence of DM increases, the need for self-management is emphasized as a way to control DM and prevent its complications. According to the common-sense model, DM self-management is explained as an illness-related coping behavior that is affected by an individual's illness perception (IP). No studies were found that evaluated IP in Korean adults with DM in the United States, or that evaluated the association of health literacy (HL) with their IP and DM self-management. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between HL, IP, and DM self-management, as well as to determine if HL moderates the relationship between IP and DM self-management, in Korean immigrants with DM. A cross-sectional design was applied and a convenience sample of 52 Korean adults with self-reported DM was recruited at Korean churches in Dallas-Fort Worth areas. Participants were assessed on HL, IP, and DM self-management as well as sociodemographic data. Correlations and multiple linear regressions were performed to examine the relationships that were predicted by the research hypotheses. Of the 52 participants, more than half were male (67.3%), employed (55.8%), living with family (92.3%), and educated at the college level or higher (76.9%). Interestingly, differences in DM self-management were found in sex and employment status. Compared with their counterparts, female participants were more likely to report better DM self-management (p = .012) and unemployed participants were as well (p = .005). The mean of HL was notably high (11.1, SD = 1.053). However, there were no statistically significant associations found between HL, IP, and DM self-management. Future research needs to be conducted with a large sample at different levels of HL.

Keywords

Health literacy, Illness perception, Diabetes self-management, Immigrants

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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