University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA.
J Rural Health. 2011 Winter;27(1):3-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2010.00311.x.
This study quantifies and describes perceptions of susceptibility and severity of diabetes; cultural beliefs, barriers, and knowledge about diabetes; and social stigma associated with diabetes in an Eastern Appalachian Kentucky population.
A 55-item intercept survey was administered in 2 large retail outlets in Eastern Kentucky. Individuals were screened to ensure an age range of 25-55 and an "at-risk" diabetes status (according to the American Diabetes Association's requirements). Descriptive statistics and t tests were used to describe the data. Differences across demographic variables were tested via an analysis of variance.
Most respondents agreed that diabetes is a growing problem in their community, yet the overall levels of perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were lower than expected (susceptibility = 3.88 on a 5-point scale and severity = 3.5). Women, however, perceived higher susceptibility than men. Social stigma did not emerge as a strong concern or worry. The only group differences noted focused on barriers to care and disease management. Specifically, men without a family history of diabetes were significantly less likely than men with a family history to agree that the community should help persons living with diabetes manage their disease (P= .034).
There appears to be a gap between actual and perceived risk levels for developing diabetes. Additionally, it seems that diabetes is viewed as an intrapersonal issue rather than a community-level problem. Yet, for men, a personal experience with the disease may be enough to change the belief that diabetes is an individual problem.
本研究旨在量化并描述东肯塔基州人群对糖尿病易感性和严重程度的认知；对糖尿病的文化信仰、障碍和知识；以及与糖尿病相关的社会耻辱感。
在东肯塔基州的 2 家大型零售店中进行了一项 55 项的拦截调查。对参与者进行了筛选，以确保年龄在 25-55 岁之间，并且处于“糖尿病高危”状态（根据美国糖尿病协会的要求）。采用描述性统计和 t 检验来描述数据。通过方差分析测试了人口统计学变量之间的差异。
大多数受访者认为糖尿病是他们社区日益严重的问题，但总体的感知易感性和感知严重程度低于预期（易感性为 5 分制的 3.88 分，严重程度为 3.5 分）。然而，女性比男性感知到更高的易感性。社会耻辱感并没有成为一个强烈的关注或担忧。唯一注意到的群体差异集中在护理和疾病管理的障碍上。具体来说，没有家族糖尿病史的男性比有家族糖尿病史的男性更不可能认为社区应该帮助糖尿病患者管理他们的疾病（P=.034）。
似乎存在实际和感知的糖尿病发病风险水平之间的差距。此外，糖尿病似乎被视为一个个人问题，而不是社区层面的问题。然而，对于男性来说，个人的患病经历可能足以改变他们认为糖尿病是一个个人问题的信念。
