Self-Care and Psychological Well-Being among Patients Living with Diabetes Mellitus in Ngong, Kajiado North Sub-County, Kenya

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease where patients perform daily self-care activities to manage their glucose levels. This study examined how diabetes self-care related to the psychological well-being of adults living with diabetes in Ngong, Kajiado North, Kenya. The research objectives were to assess the level of self-care and psychological well-being, to examine the relationship between self-care and psychological well-being and to identify strategies for enhancing self-care and psychological well-being among the diabetic patients in Ngong. The study was based on two theories: the self-care deficit nursing theory by Dorothea Orem and stress and coping theory by Lazarus and Folkman. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, specifically the convergent parallel design. The target population was adult patients with diabetes seeking treatment in Ngong Sub-county Hospital. Census sampling obtained 90 patients for the study. Purposive sampling method obtained 9 patients for the qualitative strand. Data collection for quantitative data was by the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) and the World Health Organization-Five Well Being Index (WHO-5) with semi-structured interviews done for the qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 and presented by descriptive statistics (frequency tables, percentages and charts) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation). Thematic analysis was done for the qualitative data. The findings revealed moderate levels of self-care, moderate to good psychological well-being where Pearson's correlation analysis demonstrated a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship between self-care and psychological well-being (r = .420, p < .001). The qualitative participants identified three major strategies for enhancing self-care and psychological well-being: coping strategies, social support, and healthy lifestyle changes with recommendations to strengthen patient diabetic education, encourage support groups and to integrate routine psychological assessment and counselling into diabetic care.

Diabetes mellitus, Self-management, Mental health, Nursing theories

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