Diabetes Management in Turkish Immigrants in Germany

作者：Kofahl C^*; Mnich E; Kalvelage B

来源：Diabetes, Stoffwechsel und Herz, 2011, 20(5): 283-287.

• diabetes mellitus type 2
• migrants
• education
• training
• disease management program

Introduction: Immigrants of Turkish origin in Germany are at higher risk of diabetes mellitus type 2, and as a group, show a high prevalence of diabetes type 2. Patient treatment and care is complex and challenging due to cultural and social differences compared to Germany's main population. The aim of this project was to identify the needs and potentials of Turkish diabetics and starting points for (secondary) preventive measurements. Methods: We surveyed 294 Turkish immigrants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in Hamburg, Germany. Eighteen female Turkish native speakers interviewed the patients face to face using a multidimensional assessment consisting of health and healthcare variables, dependency, quality of life, testing for diabetes knowledge as well as reading, writing and language skills, education level, and socio-economic status. Results: The average age of the patients, 53% were female, was fifty-nine. The patients had a low school education level while showing poor German language skills. Multivariate analyses controlled for age and sex showed a significant effect of education level and diabetes training on diabetes knowledge. Overall diabetes knowledge remained poor despite the positive effect of diabetes training. Conclusion: Due to low education, illiteracy and lack of German language skills, we recommend developing and implementing specific diabetes education programs for this group of patients, a native-language program in visual rather than text form to be adapted to educational level and culture.

• 出版日期2011-9-20
• 单位河北医科大学