Self-reported diabetes education among Chinese middle-aged and older adults with diabetes

Background To compare self-reported diabetes education among Chinese middle-aged and older adults with diabetes in three population groups: urban residents, migrants in urban settings, and rural residents. Methods We used data from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The sample included 993 participants age 45 and older who reported having diabetes diagnosed from a health professional. We performed multilevel regressions to examine the associations between characteristics and different aspects of diabetes education received. Findings Our study shows that 20.24% of the participants received no diabetes education at all. Among those who received information, 46.82% of respondents with diabetes received weight control advice from a health care provider, 90.97% received advice on exercise, 60.37% received diet advice, 35.12% were spoken to smoking control, and only 17.89% of persons were informed of foot care. After controlling socioeconomic factors, life style, number of comorbidities and community factors, we found that compared with migrant population and rural residents, urban residents were more likely to receive diabetes education on diet. Urban residents were also more likely to obtain diabetes education and more aspects of diabetes education in comparison with migrants and rural residents. Conclusions Our study suggests diabetes education is a serious concern in China, and a significant proportion of the participants did not receive advice on smoking control and foot care. Rural residents and migrants from rural areas received much less diabetes education compared with urban residents. Efforts to improve diabetes education are urgently needed in China.