Does Depression or Lack of Knowledge Lead to Non-compliance among African American Diabetics?

Problem: Diabetes has become the leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, kidney and liver failure, which cost the U.S. more than $100 billion each year. More than 2 million African Americans have diabetes and are more likely to develop complications than any other race. Every 2 minutes, an American dies from complications of diabetes, which is over 300,000 individuals each year. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if depression or lack of knowledge led to non-compliance among African American diabetics. Methods: Descriptive correlational design was used. A convenience sample of African American adults wth diabetes were drawn from two physicians' offices. After an informed consent was signed, 2 questionnaires were administered entitled The Beck Depression Inventory, and The Diabetic Knowledge Test. HgbA1c values were recorded from the patients' charts as a measure of non-compliance. Results: Of the total sample (n=26), there were 10 men and 16 women with a mean age of 59 years old (SD=10.99) for men, and 56 years old (SD=13.91) for women. Pearson Product moment correlation coefficients were not significant for relationships among depression, lack of knowledge and HgbA1c. However, there was a negative relationship between knowledge and non-compliance (HgbA1c), that appeared promising. Implications for Practice/Future Studies: Based on the literature, depression needs to be addressed during all office visits especially if diabetes is a diagnosis. Diabetic knowledge also needs to be addressed and reinforced during these office visits. More research needs to be conducted on African American diabetics, paying closer attention to depression and knowledge.Master'sSchool of Health Professions and Studies: NursingUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117809/1/JohnsonN.pd