Social support and type 2 diabetes self-management programs in Asia: A Systematic Review

Background: Diabetes is a chronic disease for all age groups worldwide; moreover, high prevalence of type 2 diabetes has become a severe public health issue in Asia.  Since diabetes is usually a life-long disease accompanied by mental and physical transitions at different stages, it is crucial to develop self-management programs for the diabetes population.  Social support, defined as a multidimensional concept, is a crucial element in chronic disease self-management programs.  There has been fruitful research in western countries about diabetes interventions integrated with social support; whereas, few studies have discussed the role of social support in Asia.  Therefore, This study compared exisitng asian research on diabetes management programs to research from western countires.  Methods: We performed a systematic review of available published data in PubMed and Google Scholar.  A combination of various keywords relevant to diabetes self-management, intervention, and Asian population was used.  Related data of included studies were extracted in a systematic way. 

Results:  A total of 20 studies were included.  Articles discussing diabetes intervention were from Japan, South Asia, Mainland China, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan.   The existing studies discussing diabetes management were based on educational materials delivered by health professionals or trained community workers, whereas the implementation of social support in the intervention of diabetes was rarely addressed.  Conclusion:  In western countries, diabetes self-management programs have been successfully modified with social support, including spouses, family and informal caregivers.  It is important to integrate social support into diabetes control in Asia, aligned with the cultural characteristics of those populations.