Telenursing needs and influencing factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract Aims and Objectives This study aimed to determine the relationship between the demand for telenursing and the chronic illness resources available to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as well as the factors that affect this requirement. Design Cross‐sectional. Methods This study included 586 participants with T2DM. A telenursing needs questionnaire developed by the research team was used to assess the telenursing needs of patients with T2DM, and the Chinese version of the Chronic Illness Resources Survey was used to assess the participants' community chronic disease resources. A one‐way ANOVA and multiple regression analysis were used to determine the factors influencing the demand for telenursing and to estimate the relationship between chronic illness resources and the need for telenursing. The STROBE checklist was followed. Results The patients' telenursing needs, ranked from high to low, are as follows: individualized skills and safety; basic disease care; psychological and spiritual needs; respect and social support; and high‐level health management. The chronic disease resource score was 3.47 ± .02, which suggested that patients with T2DM have relatively rich disease resources. Multiple regression analyses showed that resources for chronic diseases, the course of diabetes and complications, family income and other chronic diseases accounted for 79.6% of the variance in T2DM patients' telenursing needs. Conclusions The telenursing needs of patients with T2DM are prominent, and primarily focus on basic nursing needs for the disease. To some extent, chronic disease resources affect the telenursing needs of patients with T2DM. Relevance to Clinical Practice It is crucial to pay attention to research on telenursing for T2DM patients from the patients' perspective. Enhancing resources for chronic diseases may help meet the telenursing needs of T2DM patients. Patient or Public Contribution Parents and diabetes management specialists participated in designing the telenursing needs questionnaire.