The College of Nursing Discusses a Doctoral Dissertation on Nutritional Status, Physical Activity, and Self-Management Behavior Among Diabetes Patients
The College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad hosted the defense of the doctoral dissertation by researcher Kazim Laith Abdul Hamza, titled “The Relationship Between Nutritional Status, Physical Activity, and Self-Management Behavior Among Patients with Diabetes: A Longitudinal Study), was discussed at the College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Haider Muhammad Majid in the college’s Skills Lab auditorium.
The study primarily aimed to assess and examine the relationship between social, demographic, and clinical variables and the nutritional status of patients, as well as to evaluate the association of these factors with both the level of physical activity and self-management behaviors among patients with diabetes.
The study’s results and conclusions showed that the majority of participants were middle-aged, urban residents who had been living with the disease for a long time. Nutritional assessments also indicated that the majority of patients remained at risk of malnutrition throughout the study period, with only a slight improvement recorded, while physical activity showed a marked and sustained improvement over time, with an increase in the proportion of patients adhering to high levels of activity. Follow-up observations revealed fluctuations in self-management behaviors and a shift toward partial adequacy after patients initially demonstrated strong self-management.
Based on the research findings, the study recommended that the Ministry of Health focus on the continuous assessment of nutritional status, physical activity, and self-management behavior, in addition to encouraging patients to make regular visits to specialized diabetes centers through extensive awareness campaigns on social media platforms.
This dissertation resulted in the publication of three rigorous scientific papers in international journals indexed in Scopus (two in the second quartile [Q2] and one in the third quartile [Q3]). Following an extensive academic defense, the researcher’s efforts culminated in the dissertation being awarded a grade of “Excellent.”
The findings of this study align with the Sustainable Development Goals that the College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad seeks to promote, particularly Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), by supporting integrated care approaches for chronic diseases and improving the quality of life for patients in the community.
