Elderly are often associated with multiple social and health problems. Family members are important in helping them doing their daily activities. For elderly diabetics, family support has a role in diabetes management and glucose control. The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of elderly diabetics regarding the role of family support on their glucose control. This qualitative technique was a part of the study on glucose control and its associated factors among elderly diabetics. It was conducted from February until May 2009 in Kulim. Ten respondents were purposively sampled based on their glucose control. HbA1c 6.5% or less was considered as good glucose control. In depth interview, using semi-structured interview guide was used in this study. The conversation had been taped, transcribed to verbatim and analyzed manually using thematic analysis. All ten respondents perceived that family support did not play a role on their glucose control. They believed that self-awareness and self-determination were important to control the glucose level. Those with good glucose control practiced healthy diet, and not affected by food prepared by their family members compared to those with poor glucose control. However, both groups claimed that, they did not receive much advice from their family members and no special food was prepared for them. Elderly diabetics should be motivated on self-determination and focusing on good glucose control. Health education should be given to patients and their family members to increase their diabetes knowledge especially on useful advice and proper food preparation. It could motivate the elderly diabetics to control their glucose level.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Diet ; Aged ; Family ; Motivation

Introduction: Food security can be defined as the availability of and accessibility to food, acquired in an acceptable means at any given time and place in a way that could maintain health and wellbeing. One critical dimension of food security is continued access to adequate food. To measure this dimension, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) developed the latest measurement tool, namely the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), the first instrument to measure people who experience food insecurity globally. This study aimed to validate the construct validity and reliability of the Malay version of FIES (M-FIES) for Malaysians. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 145 households in Kuantan, Pahang. Rasch analysis was used to analyse the construct validity of FIES. Results: FIES met the Rasch model assumptions with all items having an infit value of between 0.7- 1.3 and an outfit value of <2.0. The item and person reliability were 0.97 and 0.71, respectively; while the item and person separation were 5.59 and 1.58, respectively. The FIES item severity indicated that the items “few food”, “healthy”, “skipped”, “ate less”, and “runout” were disordered. Conclusion: The M-FIES is a valid and reliable measurement tool for the food insecurity situation among households based on its construct validity assessed using the Rasch model. Furthermore, the severity of item in M-FIES was different in terms of order from the original FIES, suggesting that the same items may be interpreted differently due to cultural or societal differences.