Variables Tested for Association with Glycosylated Hemoglobin (HbA1c)*
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| Sociodemographic | |
| Age | Years old |
| Race | White versus all other races |
| Sex | Male versus female |
| Marital status | Married versus unmarried |
| Living arrangement | Lives alone versus does not live alone |
| Education | High school diploma or less; some college/college graduate/some masters/masters graduate or terminal degree |
| Income | $0-$19,999; $20,000-$69,999; or ≥$70,000 |
| Insurance | Has insurance versus has no insurance |
| Family support | |
| Family knowledge and support | 8 questions about family helping patient cope with diabetes (family provides helps and support with diabetes, knows about diabetes, helps you follow a meal plan, take medication, care about your feet, get enough exercise, test blood glucose, and handle your feelings about diabetes) Rated using scale of 1 (none) to 5 (a lot) |
| Health risks | |
| Tobacco use | Smokes cigarettes versus does not smoke cigarettes |
| Duration of diabetes | Patient reports number of years since they have been diagnosed with diabetes |
| Body mass index | Weight (kg) divided by the height (m2) |
| Mental/physical health | |
| SF-12 Health Survey | Summary scores for mental and physical health35 |
| Depressive symptoms | PHQ-9, sum of score on 9-question scale (0 = not at all to 3 = nearly every day; scale range 0–27)33; higher score indicates more depressive symptoms |
| Physician-patient communication | |
| Physician-patient relationship | 12 questions: sees the same physician; physician explains diabetes to patient; patient agrees with physician's opinion; patient is given opportunities to answer questions; patient feels comfortable asking questions; patient issatisfied with physician discussions; physician asks about goals for treatment; patient is offered a choice for treatment; physician explains treatment to patient; physician explores how manageable this treatment would be for the patient; physician discusses patient's and physician's respective roles; and physician encourages the role the patient wants in their care. Rated using scale: 1 (no extent) to 5 (very great extent) |
| Self-care behaviors | |
| Adherence-satisfaction to medications | Combination percent adherence with medications and satisfaction with adherence |
| Adherence-satisfaction to meal plans | Combination percent adherence with meal plan and satisfaction with adherence |
| Adherence-satisfaction to blood glucose testing | Combination percent adherence with testing blood glucose and satisfaction with adherence. Patient reports yes/no to testing blood glucose at home |
| Adherence-satisfaction with regular exercise | Combination days/week exercised, minutes exercised/day and satisfaction with adherence |
| Potential barriers to diabetes management | |
| Barriers to taking medications, following meal plan, testing, blood glucose, and exercising, regularly (total of 34 questions) | 8 questions about medications, meal plans, testing blood glucose, and exercise (too busy; hassle; don't believe; don't like to do; don't understand; forgets; costs too much; depression interferes) Rated using scale: 1 (no extent) to 5 (very great extent) 2 questions (hurts; don't understand how to use results) about testing blood glucose Rated using scale: 1 (no extent) to 5 (very great extent) |
| Diabetes knowledge | 5 questions about the importance of testing blood glucose (to what extent type 2 diabetes is a serious disease; importance of keeping blood glucose close to normal; keeping blood glucose close to normal is too much work; and need to know about diabetes to make good decisions) Rated using scale: 1 (no extent) to 5 (very great extent) |
| Confidence in ability to manage self-care behaviors | 4 questions related to medication, meal plan, blood glucose, and exercise Rated using scale: 1 (not very confident) to 5 (very confident) |
| Motivation to do a better job in self-care behaviors | 4 questions related to medication, meal plan, blood glucose, and exercise Rated using scale: 1 (not very motivated) to 5 (very motivated) |
* R2 = 0.24.
SF-12, 12-item Short-Form Health Survey; PHQ-9, 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire.