Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

It is essential that people with diabetes visit a physician as the physician has a key-role in monitoring diabetes progression and delivering recommended care components such as HbA1C testing, foot checking and urine checking. They are also able to advise the patient when changes to lifestyle or medication are necessitated. The aim of this research was to ascertain whcih factors are associated with self-reported use of diabetes healthcare in 1,175 people with type 2 diabetes who took part in the Diabetes Health Study in Quebec. We also wanted to ascertain the impact of major depression on reported utilization of and access to diabetes healthcare and received care components. We found that those people who reported not using diabetes healthcare were more likely to have a household income less than $15,000, be controlling diabetes through diet/exercise, have a normal body-mass index, not have received recommended care components and have major depression. People with major depression were more likely to report problems getting advice and being less likely to have feet checked by their doctor.