Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods Study

Background:  Diabetes mellitus is one of the highest causes of death around the world as one out of eleventh adults have diabetes mellitus. In Jordan, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was projected to be around 16% in 2020. Our study aims to understand the compliance and efficacy for self-managem...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zachrieh Alhaj, Zaid Almubaid, Salem Khalil, Debora Kim, Esther Jeong, Daniel F Young, Andrew Thornton, Hani Serag
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jbe.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jbe/article/view/1516
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849391100657139712
author Zachrieh Alhaj
Zaid Almubaid
Salem Khalil
Debora Kim
Esther Jeong
Daniel F Young
Andrew Thornton
Hani Serag
author_facet Zachrieh Alhaj
Zaid Almubaid
Salem Khalil
Debora Kim
Esther Jeong
Daniel F Young
Andrew Thornton
Hani Serag
author_sort Zachrieh Alhaj
collection DOAJ
description Background:  Diabetes mellitus is one of the highest causes of death around the world as one out of eleventh adults have diabetes mellitus. In Jordan, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was projected to be around 16% in 2020. Our study aims to understand the compliance and efficacy for self-management among refugees living with diabetes mellitus in the Jordanian Nuzha health centers. Methods: Structured interviews with short questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), and semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers. The study population was based on a sample of patients who visited the Nuzha health centers. Results: A total of 30 participants at UNRWA Nuzha Health Center participated in the questionnaire. Notably, most participants demonstrated high self-efficacy for controlling one’s DM (83%) and high perceived ability to find the support and medical resources for management (87%). Additionally, most participants showed robust knowledge in the importance of diet and exercise for the management of DM (93% for both variables). This study also reports that 11 participants were overweight, 9 had Class I obesity and 6 had Class II obesity. Conclusions: Limitations of this study included a low number of female patients during FGDs, limited number of Type I DM patients, and limited ages. Our main findings are that patients of Nuzha HC have high perceived self-efficacy and structural support for managing DM, level of education impacts management of diabetes, transportation is a major barrier to receiving consistent care and healthy dietary options are not affordable
format Article
id doaj-art-189982daf7b24d9eb2ce9410f581fbc0
institution Kabale University
issn 2383-4196
2383-420X
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Tehran University of Medical Sciences
record_format Article
series Journal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
spelling doaj-art-189982daf7b24d9eb2ce9410f581fbc02025-08-20T03:41:10ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesJournal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology2383-41962383-420X2025-04-0110410.18502/jbe.v10i4.18527Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods StudyZachrieh Alhaj0Zaid Almubaid1Salem Khalil2Debora Kim3Esther Jeong4Daniel F Young5Andrew Thornton6Hani Serag7UTMBJohn Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States, 77555John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States, 77555John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States, 77555John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States, 77555John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States, 77555John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United StatesDepartment of Public Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United StatesBackground:  Diabetes mellitus is one of the highest causes of death around the world as one out of eleventh adults have diabetes mellitus. In Jordan, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was projected to be around 16% in 2020. Our study aims to understand the compliance and efficacy for self-management among refugees living with diabetes mellitus in the Jordanian Nuzha health centers. Methods: Structured interviews with short questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs), and semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers. The study population was based on a sample of patients who visited the Nuzha health centers. Results: A total of 30 participants at UNRWA Nuzha Health Center participated in the questionnaire. Notably, most participants demonstrated high self-efficacy for controlling one’s DM (83%) and high perceived ability to find the support and medical resources for management (87%). Additionally, most participants showed robust knowledge in the importance of diet and exercise for the management of DM (93% for both variables). This study also reports that 11 participants were overweight, 9 had Class I obesity and 6 had Class II obesity. Conclusions: Limitations of this study included a low number of female patients during FGDs, limited number of Type I DM patients, and limited ages. Our main findings are that patients of Nuzha HC have high perceived self-efficacy and structural support for managing DM, level of education impacts management of diabetes, transportation is a major barrier to receiving consistent care and healthy dietary options are not affordable https://jbe.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jbe/article/view/1516DiabetesUNRWAJordanRefugee HealthPopulation HealthEpidemiology
spellingShingle Zachrieh Alhaj
Zaid Almubaid
Salem Khalil
Debora Kim
Esther Jeong
Daniel F Young
Andrew Thornton
Hani Serag
Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods Study
Journal of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Diabetes
UNRWA
Jordan
Refugee Health
Population Health
Epidemiology
title Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods Study
title_full Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods Study
title_fullStr Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods Study
title_full_unstemmed Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods Study
title_short Barriers and Determinants of Diabetes Self-Management Among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan: A Mixed-Methods Study
title_sort barriers and determinants of diabetes self management among palestinian refugees in jordan a mixed methods study
topic Diabetes
UNRWA
Jordan
Refugee Health
Population Health
Epidemiology
url https://jbe.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jbe/article/view/1516
work_keys_str_mv AT zachriehalhaj barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy
AT zaidalmubaid barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy
AT salemkhalil barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy
AT deborakim barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy
AT estherjeong barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy
AT danielfyoung barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy
AT andrewthornton barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy
AT haniserag barriersanddeterminantsofdiabetesselfmanagementamongpalestinianrefugeesinjordanamixedmethodsstudy