Investigation of the Perceived Stress Levels and Adherence to Treatment of Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: This research was conducted in a descriptive-relational type in order to examine the relationship between the investigation of the perceived stress levels\rand adherence to treatment of individuals with type 2 diabetes during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic.\rMaterials and Methods: The population of the study consisted of adult individuals diagnosed with diabetes for at least 1 year, who were admitted to the İnternal\rMedicine Clinic of a Training and Research Hospital located in the southeast of Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 184 individuals with type 2 diabetes\rwho accepted to participate in the study and met the research criteria. The data of the study were collected from the Patient Identification Form, the Perceived Stress\rScale, and the Patient Adherence to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Treatment Scale forms. Descriptive statistics, independent groups t-test, one-way analysis of variance,\rKruskal–Wallis, Dunn–Bonferroni test, and Pearson correlation analysis were used to evaluate the data.\rResults: The mean total score of patient compliance in the treatment of perceived stress and type 2 diabetes was found to be 23.82 ± 8.34 and 99.69 ± 17.68,\rrespectively. The difference between the overall total score averages of the patient adherence scale in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, according to the individual's\rstate of having coronavirus disease 2019 and the disruption of controls during the pandemic process, and the total sub-dimension of perceived stress, and having\rcoronavirus disease-2019 in the family was found to be statistically significant (P < .05). A weak negative correlation was found between perceived stress and mean\rscores of adherence to treatment (P < .05).\rConclusion: In the study, it was determined that individuals with diabetes had moderate levels of perceived stress and adherence to treatment and that as perceived\rstress levels increased, their level of adherence to treatment decreased.