The evaluati̇on of the self-care agency and soci̇al support of pregnant women wi̇th gestati̇onal di̇abetes melli̇tus

This study was made to make an evaulation of the self-care agency and the level of social support of pregnant women with gestational diabetes. The study was made in the Ege University Medical Faculty Hospital between August 2012 and January 2013. The study sample was consisted of 71 pregnant women with a diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes and who were admitted to the Ege University Faculty of Medicine Hospital in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In the collection of research data, the related literature in the direction developed by the researcher "Pregnant Identification Questionnaire" (Appendix 1) which was developed by the researcher in accordance with the related literature, "Self-Care Agency Scale" (Appendix 2) and "Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale-Revised Version " (Appendix 3) were used. In the evaluation of the data, descriptive statistical methods (mean, standard deviation, median, Frequency, Rate, Minimum, Maximum), Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test were used. In the evaluation of the relationships between the parameters. Spearman's Correlation Analysis has been used for evaluating the coloration between the parameters. The level of significance has been determined as p<0.05. The following results were obtained in the evaluation: Self-care agency scale scores of the patients ranged from 66 to 140 points, the mean score was 127.74 ± 10.81 points. Social Support total scores of the subjects ranged between 36 and 84 points, the mean score was 66 ± 15.32 Social support subscale scores ranged from 4 to 28 points, mean scores were found as follows; 27.21 ± 3.16 for the family support, 8.23 ± 7.42 for the friend support, and 15.07 ± 10.64 for the special people support. The mean age of the pregnant women was found to be 31.38 ± 5.13. 49.3% of the pregnant women were primary school graduates, 66.2% were not working, 88.7's got pregnant intentionally, 95.8% could maintain their own care by themselves, 40.8% got the most help from their spouses and mothers in the pregnancy, the most her husband and family has helped, 88.7% did not receive a diagnosis of diabetes in previous pregnancies and when the current blood sugar levels at the time of the evaluation, and 64.8% were determined to have regulated blood sugar levels. According to the education status of their partners, the total point of the social support scale and the point of special person care support are varied, the social support point increases by the increase of the education status. It has been detected that there was a significant correlation between social support, friendship support and special person care according to the working status of the pregnant (p<0.05), as a result it has been found that the point of the working pregnant was higher. It has been detected that there was statistically a significant correlation between the social support scale and the special person care of the pregnant according to the profession of their husbands. Self-care agency and family support scale significantly increase by presence of supportive people for caring. The study also shows that there is a positive and statistically poor significant correlation, therefore, if the family support increases accordingly the self-care strength also increases. In terms of pregnant women with gestational diabetes to be able to perform their daily activities and self-care at the maximum level, nurses should have knowledge about the importance of the self-care agency and they should give education to the pregnant women about how the self-care will be performed. Health care personnel should evaluate not just the health status of the baby but also the health status of the mother during pregnancy in controls, and they should make more effort on things that effect or may effect the prospective mother and they should try to increase the support systems and the quality of those support systems. Key Words: Gestational diabetes; self-care agency; social support.