Self-esteem and assessment of chronic disease care in patients with type 2 diabetes

Self-esteem and Assessment of Chronic Disease Care in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes ABSTRACT Aim:Today, the prevalence of diabetes increased rapidly with changes in lifestyle and has become a major public health problem. The International Diabetes Federation data in 2015 estimated that the current number of diabetic patients in the world, which was 415 million people,will reach to 642 million in 2040. Turkey has unfortunately been one of the countries with the highest increase in prevelance of diabetes. The prevalence was 7.2% in 1998 and it increased to 13.7% in 12 years, beyond all estimates. Diabetes is known to affect negatively of patients physical and mental well-being, family, work and social life, their interpersonal relationships and quality of life as it requires long-term and complex treatment and follow-up protocols and can lead to life-threatening complications. The aim of this study was to find the relationship between self-esteem and assessment of chronic disease care in patients withtype 2 diabetes. Material and Methods:A total of 105 patients with type 2 diabetes admitting to Cukurova University Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic from 01.03.2016 to 30.04.2016 were included in our study. Inclusion criteria were to have type 2 diabetes for at least six months. Participants completed sociodemographic questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Scale for Assessment of Chronic Disease Care-Patient Forms using face-to-face interview. Data was analyzed by SPSS 20.0 statistical software.The significance level was accepted as p≤0,05. Results:Of patients,40% (n=42) were male and mean age was 54.2 ± 7.5 years, 84.8% (n=89) were married, 45.7% were unemployed. The mean duration of diabetes was 10.9 ± 7.6 years. Of patients, 12.4% mentioned that they did not receive any education/training related to diabetes. As the level of self-esteem increased, the perception of health status improved (p=0.007). There was a significant relationship between duration of diabetes and having coronary artery disease (p=0.001).Employed patients had higher levels of self-esteem and better use of medications than those of unemployed patients (p=0.035 and p=0.040,respectively). The mean total score of assessment of chronic disease care scale was 3,0±0,9.The highest subscale mean score was for decision-making and the lowest score was for follow-up/coordination in Assessment of Chronic Disease Care-Patient Form. There was no significant correlation between total scores of Assessment of Chronic Disease Care Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (p>0.05). Conclusion:Patients had high levels of self-esteem and low levels of assessment of chronic disease care showing that both patients and health care workers should pay more attention to these two issues. Keywords: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Self-esteem,Chronic Disease Care, Family Physician