Exploring the Role of Time in Diabetes Self-Management: A Scoping Review of Challenges, Intervention Strategies, and Implications for Clinical Care

Type 2 diabetes self-management behaviors (SMBs) can be time-consuming, necessitating effective time-management strategies. This scoping review synthesized evidence on the role of time and how time is conceptualized in diabetes self-management and identified strategies to address time-related barriers. Forty-eight peer-reviewed studies spanning 25 countries and published between 2013 and 2024 were included. Time scarcity, largely because of family, work, social, and caregiving responsibilities, was consistently identified as a barrier to SMBs, particularly physical activity (50% of studies), general self-management (21%), and dietary modifications (17%). Half of the studies proposed strategies to overcome time constraints, including structured routines, support from family and social networks, workplace accommodations, and digital health technologies. Five studies (10%) tested interventions, all of which used digital technologies. These findings emphasize that time-related barriers are pervasive and limit type 2 diabetes SMBs, highlighting an important consideration for diabetes educators and clinicians. Addressing time-related barriers will require multilevel approaches, including supporting individual time-management skills, leveraging interpersonal networks, and enacting structural changes in health care delivery and workplace policies. Greater investment in interventions, especially those extending beyond digital health, is needed to reduce the impact of time constraints on diabetes self-management.