ILLNESS PERCEPTIONS, MEDICATION ADHERENCE AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore illness perceptions, adherence to medication and quality of life in people with Type 2 diabetes. The data was collected using a quantitative descriptive and correlational survey research design, with non-probability purposive sample of diagnosed adult Type 2 diabetic patients in Lahore, Pakistan. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) developed by Broadbent et al. (2006), Diabetes Medication Adherence Scale (DMAS-7) developed by Mallah et al. (2019) and Revised Version of Diabetes Quality of Life (RV-DQOL13) developed by Bujang et al. (2018) were the three standardized scales administered. SPSS was used for statistical analyses, which consisted of descriptive statistics, Independent Samples t-tests and One-Way ANOVA with Post-Hoc Tukey HSD comparisons. The descriptive findings confirmed that the sample had a moderate baseline level of medication adherence (M = 5.08, SD = 1.46) and quality of life (M = 26.97, SD = 4.29). For the illness perception, inferential testing indicated that there was a significant difference between men and women, with the females having a higher illness perception than the males; no significant difference was found between the formal education levels and any of the variables. Most importantly, age and the specific treatment modalities were highly significant only for medication adherence, with younger age groups showing significantly lower adherence, and patients with more complex insulin injection regimens showing significantly poorer adherence than those taking a single oral tablet. These results generate important awareness on adherence and quality of life and offer guidelines for the design of specific psychological interventions and simplified adherence routines for healthcare organizations, policy makers, healthcare providers and caregivers.