Abstract
Objective: To analyze the self-care practices of people with type II diabetes and the contributions of Dorothea Orem's theory. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study with a quantitative approach, developed in a Basic Health Unit of a municipality in the state of Maranhão. Semi-structured interviews were conducted about the dimensions of self-care such as nutrition, physical activity, blood glucose monitoring and foot care with 60 patients with type II diabetes mellitus in December 2019. The data obtained were analyzed using the epi info version 7.2. Results: The predominant population was female (73.33%), aged over 60 years (41.67%). 53.33% reported not knowing the self-care practices. In which they have low adherence regarding physical activity, foot care, glycemic monitoring and daily consultations. However, they showed good results regarding healthy eating and not being a smoker. Conclusion: It was found ineffective knowledge of patients regarding self-care activities, low adherence to physical activity, foot care, glycemic monitoring and daily consultations. However, as for a healthy diet and not being smokers, they showed satisfactory results.