  Effective patient education is critical for managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
(T2DM), one of the most common chronic diseases in the United States. While
some studies focus on the information-seeking behavior of T2DM patients, other
self-education behaviors including information processing and utilization are
rarely explored in the context of T2DM. This study sought to assess two
self-education behaviors of type 2 diabetics, namely, information seeking and
information processing, to understand more about how these behaviors affect the
self-management of this common chronic disease. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted with 8 English speaking T2DM patients and qualitative content
analysis techniques were performed to analyze their responses. The information
seeking and processing behaviors vary across individuals based on their
prognosis of T2DM, information needs, and personal preferences. Patients are
often dissatisfied with information from official sources, have difficulty
evaluating the trustworthiness of information sources, and desire information
that is more personally relevant to them. Several participants identified a
lack of personalized information as a key factor in the inability to adhere to
T2DM management guidelines, which led them to experience increased glucose
levels, difficulty managing A1C levels, frustration, and anxiety. They
mentioned that they followed trial and error based approaches to tailor
information according to their needs and physiological conditions. Many
participants identified conflicting or inconsistent information from different
sources as a major barrier to information processing. The results of this study
indicate a need for authentic, consistent, and individualized information for
type 2 diabetics.
