The Relationship between Health Literacy, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Care Behaviors in Diabetic Patients

Background: Neglecting self-care behaviors is considered an important factor contributing to mortality among diabetic patients. According to Bandura’s Social-Cognitive Theory, there is a close relationship between individual performance and self-efficacy. Moreover, access to health-related information or health literacy can affect health status. Aim: To investigate the relationship between health literacy, self-efficacy, and self-care behaviors in diabetic patients. Method: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 400 patients with diabetes referred to a diabetes clinic during 2015. The participants were selected through convenience sampling. The data collection tools included Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults, Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities. To analyze the data, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance were run in SPSS, version 19. Results: The mean age of the participants was 55.1±10.1 years and 74.75% of them were male. The mean scores of self-care behaviors, health literacy, and self-efficacy were 61.94±14.35, 63.6±20.7, and 146.3±22.9, respectively. Moreover, the results of Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed a significant direct correlation between health literacy and self-efficacy (P=0.03, r=0.1), as well as health literacy and self-care behaviors (P=0.04, r=0.1). Furthermore, self-efficacy had a significant direct correlation with self-care behaviors (P<0.001, r=0.5). Implications for Practice: Health literacy and self-efficacy can affect self-care behaviors in diabetic patients; thus, nurses are recommended to develop and implement simple educational interventions to enhance self-efficacy and health literacy, and in turn, promote self-care behaviors.