Expectations of Aging and Goals as Motivation for Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management in Individuals with Early Diagnosis

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes continues to plague the United States as a major cause of disability, mortality, and healthcare cost. Engagement in self-management before complications develop is the goal for individuals in early stages of the disease. Those newly diagnosed often do not engage in health behaviors to improve their prognosis. Reasons for their lack of engagement vary widely. The purpose of this study was to understand relationships between aging expectations, personal goal setting, perceived quality of life, and self-efficacy on motivation to engage in type 2 diabetes self-management. Social Cognitive Theory provided the framework. Using a cross-sectional design, 99 newly diagnosed individuals age 50 years and older participated. Regression analysis was used to determine the strength and direction of the relationships between the variables. Quality of life, goal setting, and self-efficacy were all significant predictors of motivation. Expectations of aging did not predict motivation for engagement. Both goal setting and outcome expectation were mediators of diabetes self-efficacy and motivation to engage in self-management behaviors. Quality of life and expectations of aging were not significant mediators of self-efficacy and motivation to engage in self-management through goal setting. Goal setting is a crucial consideration when planning interventions to motivate individuals to engage in diabetes self-management. Assisting individuals to set personal goals should be encouraged as part of diabetes self-management education and support. To provide individualized support, perceived quality of life should also be assessed as a contributing factor of motivation for self-management behaviors in early diagnosis.