The mediating/moderating role of cultural context factors on self-care practices among those living with diabetes in rural Appalachia

Background: The aim of this study was to examine whether cultural factors, such as religiosity and social support, mediate/moderate the relationship between personal/psychosocial factors and T2DM self-care in a rural Appalachian community. Methods: Regression models were utilized to assess for mediation and moderation. Multilevel linear mixed effects models and GEE-type logistic regression models were fit for continuous (social support, self-care) and binary (religiosity) outcomes, respectively. Results: The results indicated that cultural context factors (religiosity and social support) can mediate/moderate the relationship between psychosocial factors and T2DM self-care. Specifically, after adjusting for demographic variables, the findings suggested that social support may moderate the effect of depressive symptoms and stress on self-care. Religiosity may moderate the effect of distress on self-care, and empowerment was a predictor of self-care but was not mediated/moderated by the assessed cultural context factors. When considering health status, religiosity was a moderately significant predictor of self-care and may mediate the relationship between perceived health status and T2DM self-care. Conclusions: This study represents the first known research to examine cultural assets and diabetes self-care practices among a community-based sample of Appalachian adults. We echo calls to increase the evidence on social support and religiosity and other contextual factors among this highly affected population.