Testing the information-motivation-behavioural skills model of diabetes self-management among Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes: a protocol of a 3-month follow-up study

Introduction Currently, China leads the world in the number of people with diabetes, making it home to a third of the global diabetic population. Persons with diabetes have to carry out 95% of their self-care. As an important component of diabetes care, diabetes self-management (DSM) is defined as everyday behaviours that persons carry out to control diabetes. Consistent findings have been reported that level of compliance to suggested DSM behaviours is not considered optimal among Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The underlying reasons for suboptimal DSM behaviours among Chinese adults are not well known and no conceptual model has been developed to guide DSM interventions in this population. Although the information-motivation-behavioural skills model has been tested among Chinese adults with T2D, some key components of the original model were not tested. In this proposed study protocol, we will refine and test a culturally tailored model of DSM longitudinally among 250 Chinese adults residing in China. Methods and analysis This is a descriptive, repeated-measure study to be conducted at a tertiary hospital in Chengdu, China. A total of 250 adults with T2D will be enrolled and followed for 3 months in this study. Information of multiple domains will be collected, including demographics, diabetes knowledge, health education form, provider-patient communication, health beliefs, social support, diabetes self-efficacy, the medical coping modes, the diabetes self-care, depression, diabetes-dependent quality of life, haemoglobin A1c, blood pressure and blood lipids at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Main analyses comprise linear regression modelling controlling for covariates and structural equation modelling. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained through the Fourth People's Hospital of Chengdu Research Ethics Committee (study approval number 2017017). We aim to disseminate the findings through international conferences, international peer-reviewed journals and social media.