Health Information Orientation, Social Support, and Diabetes Self-Care Behavior Among Indian Adults: The Roles of Education and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

This study examines the direct and indirect influences of health information orientation and social support on diabetes self-care behavior through self-efficacy and the moderating role of education on such indirect effects. Data were collected from Indian adults with type 2 diabetes using a self-administered questionnaire. Results suggest that self-efficacy fully mediates the link between health information orientation and diabetes self-care behaviors. In addition, social support is directly related to self-care behaviors and indirectly through self-efficacy. This indirect association was stronger among patients with higher education compared with those with a lower level of education. The results offer several public health education and promotion implications for promoting diabetes self-care behaviors and developing self-care interventions. In particular, the findings provide evidence for explaining the mechanism through which health information orientation and social support influence diabetes self-care activities.