Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Apr;32(4):591-3.
doi: 10.2337/dc08-1837. Epub 2009 Jan 8.

Misconceptions about diabetes and its management among low-income minorities with diabetes

Devin M Mann  1 , Diego Ponieman, Howard Leventhal, Ethan A Halm
Affiliations

Misconceptions about diabetes and its management among low-income minorities with diabetes

Devin M Mann et al. Diabetes Care. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To determine diabetic patients' knowledge and beliefs about the disease and medications that could hinder optimal disease management.

Research design and methods: A cross-sectional survey of 151 type 2 diabetic patients characterizing diabetes knowledge and beliefs about the disease and medications was conducted.

Results: Mean diabetes duration was 13 years. Over half of the patients (56%) believed that normal glucose is <or=200 mg/dl, 54% reported being able to feel when blood glucose levels are high, 36% thought that they will not always have diabetes, 29% thought that their doctor will cure them of diabetes, one in four (23%) said there is no need to take diabetes medications when glucose levels are normal, and 12% believed they have diabetes only when glucose levels are high.

Conclusions: Diabetes knowledge and beliefs inconsistent with a chronic disease model of diabetes were prevalent in this sample. Suboptimal knowledge and beliefs are potentially modifiable and are logical targets for educational interventions to improve diabetes self-management.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Halm EA, Mora P, Leventhal H: No symptoms, no asthma: the acute episodic disease belief is associated with poor self-management among inner-city adults with persistent asthma. Chest 129: 573– 580, 2006 - PubMed
    1. Leventhal H, Diefenbach M, Leventhal E: Illness cognition: using common sense to understand treatment adherence and affect cognition interactions. Cognit Ther Res 16: 143– 163, 1992
    1. Horne R, Weinman J: Patients' beliefs about prescribed medicines and their role in adherence to treatment in chronic physical illness. J Psychosom Res 47: 555– 567, 1999 - PubMed
    1. Broadbent E, Petrie KJ, Main J, Weinman J: The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. J Psychosom Res 60: 631– 637, 2006 - PubMed
    1. Horne R, Weinman J, Hankins M: The beliefs about medicines questionnaire: the development and evaluation of a new method for assessing the cognitive representation of medication. Psychol Health 14: 1– 24, 1999

Publication types

MeSH terms