Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder of multiple etiologies characterized by increased level of glucose in the blood with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both [1]. It is a complex, chronic illness demanding continuous medical and self-care [2].
Diabetes is a global health problem targeted for action and currently increasing both in the number of cases and the prevalence [3, 4]. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) 2017 reports, more than 425 million people worldwide are reported as diabetic patients and nearly 80% of them are living in low and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. Globally, more than 212 million people with diabetes are not aware of their disease and there are above 352 million people with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) [5], which puts them at high risk of developing diabetes and its complications like cardiovascular diseases, stroke, kidney failure, foot ulcer, visual impairment and nerve damage [3, 5, 6].
Diabetes self-care is important to keep the disease under control, It includes performing activities such as healthful eating, regular physical activity, foot care, medication adherence, and self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) [6]. However, it is highly challenging since many people with diabetes may have contact with a healthcare professional for a total of a few hours per year and factors such as diabetes knowledge, physical activities, social support and self-efficacy can affect the self-care practice [7, 8].
In Ethiopia, diabetes becomes a fast-growing and more common chronic illness, in which > 2.135 million people are expected to be diabetic patients and it becomes the most common cause of admission which fasten the development of complications like heart attack and strokes; as a result it shortens an individual lifespan by 10–15 years. Despite this, the feature of self-care practices towards diabetes was not adequate [9,10,11]. Diabetes has a great burden on the quality of life and socioeconomic structures of the affected individuals, their families, and the country’s economic status. Countries like Ethiopia, where the resources are limited, and treatment costs of the disease are constantly increasing, good adherence to diabetic self-care practice may result in better economic and therapeutic outcomes [6, 12, 13]. Although such studies are important in such resource-limited areas, to realizing the various complex nature of the problem and to individualize, integrate the clinical approach that will enhance the diabetic self-care practice utilization [6, 7, 14], there is no study conducted in Benishangul Gumuz public hospitals regarding self-care practice on diabetic patients; few studies conducted in developing countries have discrepancy on self-care practice among diabetes patients and all of the available literatures in Ethiopia were limited in addressing factors that influence self-care practice. Therefore, this study aimed to assess self-care practice and associated factors among diabetic patients in Benishangul Gumuz public hospitals, Western Ethiopia.