Associations between psychosocial factors and health service utilisation and self-management in older Australian women with type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: Diabetes is highly prevalent in older women worldwide. This study explores the associations of psychosocial factors with both health service utilisation and self-management in older women aged 68 to 73 years with type 2 diabetes (T2D) or pre-diabetes. DESIGN AND SETTING: This cross-sectional study used data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), which is a national population-based cohort study that has collected information on factors related to women's health and well-being over 20 years. PARTICIPANTS: Women aged 68-73, born between 1946 and 1951, participated in ALSWH and self-reported their diagnosis of T2D or pre-diabetes. OUTCOME MEASURES: Resilience, dispositional optimism and perceived control were the measures of psychosocial factors. The associations between these factors and diabetes self-management behaviours, healthcare visits and preventive service use were examined by numerous regression models. RESULTS: There were 939 women aged 68-73 years with T2D or pre-diabetes. Women with T2D who exhibited higher dispositional optimism had significantly higher odds of participating in moderate/vigorous physical activity (OR: 1.06), visiting a dentist (OR: 1.07) and a lower rate of general practitioner (GP) visits (rate ratio (RR): 0.99). Women with T2D with greater resilience were likely to have a lower rate of consulting with mental health professionals (RR: 0.63) and higher odds of blood sugar level checks (OR: 1.68). The rate of GP visits within a year decreased by 16% for women with pre-diabetes who had a higher resilience score (RR: 0.84), and women with pre-diabetes with greater resilience had a 13% lower rate of visits to a nurse (RR: 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial aspects of diabetes care may be important for supporting the physical and mental well-being of older women with T2D or pre-diabetes. Healthcare providers may consider whether integrating assessments of resilience and optimism into routine diabetes management might help identify older women who could benefit from targeted psychosocial support.