University of Louisville
The Dual Health Crises of Chronic Disease and Health-Risk Behaviors in Kentucky: SelfCare Practices and Diabetes Knowledge Scores among Smokers and Non-smokers
Institution
University of Louisville
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Barbara Stetson
Abstract
Kentucky bears a challenging public health burden of high rates of chronic disease including obesity and diabetes. This burden is particularly glaring in low-income and underserved populations. In parallel, Kentucky historically has been a tobacco producing state, and has one of the highest rates of smoking in the nation. Health risk behaviors such as smoking may result in devastating outcomes for Kentuckians already bearing the burden of chronic disease. Understanding how smoking is manifested in Kentuckians living with diabetes may assist efforts to optimize health-care outreach to manage this public health crisis. The primary aim of this study was to assess rates of smoking in underserved Kentuckians receiving diabetes care in community settings. A second aim was to examine the diabetes self-care practices and knowledge in smokers and nonsmokers. Participants were 254 adults with type 2 diabetes recruited from an urban University medical clinic and health department programs in Louisville, KY. Twenty-one percent were smokers, forty-four percent were African American, sixty-one percent were women, and nineteen percent resided below the U.S. poverty line. Validated measures were used to examine diabetes self-management practices and knowledge. Smokers had less optimal diet self-management practices (p=.042) and fewer correct on the Diabetes Knowledge Test (p=.046). More research is needed to examine how smoking behaviors are related to self-care and quality of life in people living with diabetes. Public policy consideration of these issues may lead to more successful patient outcomes and lower overall medical costs to the individual, community, and state.
The Dual Health Crises of Chronic Disease and Health-Risk Behaviors in Kentucky: SelfCare Practices and Diabetes Knowledge Scores among Smokers and Non-smokers
Kentucky bears a challenging public health burden of high rates of chronic disease including obesity and diabetes. This burden is particularly glaring in low-income and underserved populations. In parallel, Kentucky historically has been a tobacco producing state, and has one of the highest rates of smoking in the nation. Health risk behaviors such as smoking may result in devastating outcomes for Kentuckians already bearing the burden of chronic disease. Understanding how smoking is manifested in Kentuckians living with diabetes may assist efforts to optimize health-care outreach to manage this public health crisis. The primary aim of this study was to assess rates of smoking in underserved Kentuckians receiving diabetes care in community settings. A second aim was to examine the diabetes self-care practices and knowledge in smokers and nonsmokers. Participants were 254 adults with type 2 diabetes recruited from an urban University medical clinic and health department programs in Louisville, KY. Twenty-one percent were smokers, forty-four percent were African American, sixty-one percent were women, and nineteen percent resided below the U.S. poverty line. Validated measures were used to examine diabetes self-management practices and knowledge. Smokers had less optimal diet self-management practices (p=.042) and fewer correct on the Diabetes Knowledge Test (p=.046). More research is needed to examine how smoking behaviors are related to self-care and quality of life in people living with diabetes. Public policy consideration of these issues may lead to more successful patient outcomes and lower overall medical costs to the individual, community, and state.