Abstract
This study explored the feasibility of an occupation-based habit formation intervention for individuals with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, aimed at improving daily functioning and quality of life. The results suggest potential benefits for habit strength and behaviors.
Primary Author and Speaker: Diana Feldhacker
Additional Authors and Speakers: Heather Fritz
More than 1/3 of Americans have diabetes or prediabetes, and 1 out of every 7 dollars of healthcare spending is directly related to treating diabetes and its complications. Self-management of behaviors related to lifestyle is the recommended focus for interventions to address type-2 diabetes (T2DM). A demonstrated effective approach to improving personal behaviors is habit formation, though evidence for individuals with T2DM is limited. Following a theoretical framework for habit formation, this study sought to examine the feasibility of occupation-based habit formation interventions in improving diabetes self-management (DSM) behaviors among individuals with T2DM. This was a mixed methods study using a quantitative qualitative explanatory sequential design. Eight adults with T2DM were enrolled into the study. Feasibility results indicated promise of interventions for a larger randomized study and provided insights for improvement of future studies. The preliminary single-subject findings indicated a clinically significant improvement in diabetes self-care behaviors, as measured on the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA), for six of the eight participants. Group self-care results of all participants were statistically significant across repeated measures from baseline through 10 weeks of intervention (χ(12, 8) = 74.01, p = .000). There was also a statistically significant improvement in automaticity, as measured by the Self-Report Behavioral Automaticity Index (SRBAI), for all four areas of intervention: Nutrition (χ (9, 8 = 58.23, p = .000), blood glucose monitoring (χ (7, 8) = 40.02, p = .000), medication management (χ (5, 8) = 26.46, p = .000), and physical activity (χ (3, 8) = 14.06, p = .001). Phenomenological findings indicated that participants experienced a positive change in DSM behaviors as a result of the intervention. These findings support a habit formation approach for developing DSM behaviors for adults with T2DM.
Feldhacker, D. R., Ikiugu, M. N., Fritz, H., Schweinle, W. E., & Wang, H. (2023). Habit formation intervention to improve type 2 diabetes self-management behaviors: A feasibility study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 77, 7706205100. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2023.050351
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