Abstract

Adult type 2 diabetes is an increasing problem in the United States and affected over 16 million Americans in 2004. Most patients are treated in primary care settings and managed medically, but controlling insulin resistance through activity and diet is considered the greatest challenge for the next 30 years (Katen, et al., 2007). Understanding how physicians and patients communicate about health behaviors is necessary for developing the most effective strategies for facilitating health behavior change in this population. In the current study, adults with type 2 diabetes (n= 87) from the Loma Linda University Diabetes Treatment Center (LLUDTC), LLUDTC Support Group, and Loma Linda University Family Medical Center (LLUFMC) were surveyed to evaluate diet, exercise, smoking, and alcohol use and to assess self-reported satisfaction with primary care physicians and amount of time their physicians spent discussing health behavior changes. Results indicated that: Participants did not have more positive health behaviors when their physicians discussed HBC on most visits. Satisfied participants spend more time discussing health behaviors with their physicians than patients who were not satisfied. Participants with poor current health behaviors did not increase goals for future health behavior change when their physicians spent more time talking about health behaviors. Participants report that their physicians do a good job providing information on health behavior, have good communication skills, and are helpful in providing referrals. In the future, participants want their physicians to provide more information, understand them as individuals, continue to make referrals to specialists and support groups, and allow extra time during their visits to talk about health behaviors such as diet and exercise.

LLU Discipline

Psychology

Department

Psychology

School

School of Science and Technology

First Advisor

Jason Owen

Second Advisor

Karen Lesniak

Third Advisor

David Vermeersch

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Degree Level

Psych.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2009

Date (Title Page)

9-2009

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Diabetes; Physician and patient; Medical consultation; Lifestyles -- Health aspects; Diabetes Mellitus; Health Behavior; Risk-Reduction Behavior; Self Care -- methods; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Physician-Patient Relations; Communication; Referral and Consultation; Patient Education as Topic; Patient Satisfaction; Prospective Studies

Type

Thesis

Page Count

viii; 55

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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