Quality of life and diabetes literacy of Turkish type 2 diabetics in Hamburg and Istanbul

Introduction: The project „Health Literacy of Turkish Immigrants with Diabetes mellitus 2„ is studying the ability of Turkish immigrants with Diabetes mellitus 2 (DM2) to cope with their illness. The goal is to identify starting points of preventive and secondary preventive measures for Turkish diabetics with regard to their socio-economic status, their education and the degree of integration [1]. Data and Methods: In Hamburg, 294 randomly chosen Turkish immigrants with DM2 (59 years on average, 53% women) were interviewed in mother tongue and compared with 111 Turkish diabetics in Istanbul (60 years, 56% women). Besides socio-demographic variables, health status and care process indicators, they were assessed in QoL (WHO-QOL), and tested in their diabetes-knowledge. Other variables were social support, locus of health control etc. Results: The Hamburg patients are living in Germany for 32 years on average; nevertheless, 87% are still Turkish nationals, and 40% do not speak German at all. 24% have no school education (Istanbul: 20%), 49% only 4–5 years primary school (Istanbul: 41%). No differences were found in the QoL-domains „physical health“ and „psychological QoL“, but „social relationship“ and „environment“ was significantly assessed better by the patients in Hamburg. Diabetes-literacy was poor in both groups, but much worse in Istanbul, where nobody absolved a diabetes education (in Hamburg: 56%). Conclusions: Diabetes education programmes need to be implemented (Turkey) and adapted (Germany), specifically for illiterate patients [2,3]. To achieve a better sustainability in improved diabetes literacy, education-level adapted trainings should be combined with supported self-help activities in a community oriented health promotion approach.

Literatur:

[1] Kofahl C (2010) Türkischstämmige Zuwanderer mit Diabetes mellitus 2– Hintergründe, Herausforderungen und Konsequenzen. In: Kongresszeitung zur 45. DDG-Jahrestagung. Stuttgart: Karl Demeter Verlag. [2] Kalvelage B, Kofahl C (2010) Therapie von Migranten mit Diabetes mellitus – Kreativität und Geduld sind die Schlüssel zum Erfolg. Info Diabetologie 2010; 4 (1): S. 40–43. [3] Parmakerli-Czemmel B, Kalvelage B, Demirtas A (2007) Zur Lage der Migranten mit Diabetes mellitus in Deutschland. Diabetologie und Stoffwechsel 2007; 2: 46–52.