The influence of treatment modality and ethnicity on attitudes in type 2 diabetes

OBJECTIVE - The study examines diabetes attitude differences by treatment m odality (insulin vs. no insulin), race/ethnicity, and the interaction of th ese two variables for people with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Data were collected with the Diabetes Care Pr ofile (DCP), an instrument that assesses psychosocial factors related to di abetes. Participants (n = 672) were recruited in the metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, area from 1993 to 1996. A total of 68% of these participants were African-Americans with type 2 diabetes, and 32% were Caucasians with type 2 diabetes. Analyses of covariance were performed to examine the effects of race/ethnicity treatment, and their interaction for each DCP scale. RESULTS - The four patient categories (two ethnicities by two treatment mod alities) differed by age, years with diabetes, education, and sex distribut ion. Treatment modality had a significant effect on 6 of the 16 DCP scales (Control, Social and Personal Factors, Positive Attitude, Negative Attitude , Self-Care Ability): and Exercise Barriers). Ethnicity was a significant e ffect for three scales (Control, Support, and Support Attitudes). The inter action of race/ethnicity and treatment modality was a significant effect fo r two related attitude scales (Positive Attitude and Negative Attitude). CONCLUSIONS - The results suggest that attitudes toward diabetes are simila r for African-American and Caucasian patients with type 2 diabetes. The res ults also suggest that treatment modality has a greater effect on attitudes than either race/ethnicity or the interaction effect. However, Caucasian p atients using insulin differed from the other patient groups by having the least positive and the most negative attitudes regarding diabetes.