Social support and coping in adults with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

BackgroundThe diagnosis of diabetes has been described as a lifelong psychological burden on the patient and his or her family. Social support plays a pivotal role in patients with diabetes and is important in enabling them to cope effectively with the disease. There is a dearth of research on social support and coping in patients with diabetes in South Africa.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to explore whether patients with poor perceived social support have lower levels of well-being and coping than patients with good social support.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted at both public and private facilities on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Diabetes Care Profile (DCP), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) and the WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5) were administered to 401 participants.ResultsThe findings indicate that there is an inverse relationship between social support and coping, which suggests that an increase in social support is associated with a decrease in emotional distress. There was a small positive correlation between the SSQ and the WHO-5, which suggests participants who had good support endorsed better levels of well-being. Although participants indicated that they were satisfied with their level of support, they had poor coping as indicated by the high mean score on the GHQ and the high HbA1c level. There was a small positive correlation between GHQ and HbA1c. There was no association between social support and HbA1c.ConclusionSocial support is important in helping the patient with diabetes cope with the disease and to improve adherence to treatment. Health care providers should take cognisance of psychosocial factors in the treatment regime of the patient. Family members should be educated about diabetes, the importance of adherence and long-term complications of the disease.

Psychosocial distress, clinical variables and self-management activities associated with type 2 diabetes: a study in Ghana

“…Social support (from family and healthcare providers) is also very important for maintaining lifestyle changes and effective diabetes self-management [ 11 ]. Increase in social support for adults with diabetes has been associated with a decrease in emotional distress, and individuals with high levels of social support have reported better levels of well-being ([ 12 ]. Thus, diabetes treatment does not only require medical treatment but psychosocial care to deal with diabetes-related emotional distress, and in some cases depression, which are commonly associated with diabetes [ 13 ].…”

Adherence to Insulin, Emotional Distress, and Trust in Physician Among Patients with Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…According to the WHO, adherence to treatment may be defined as the extent to which the patient’s history of therapeutic drug-taking coincides with the prescribed treatment [ 3 ]. Adherence to treatment remains a challenge in T2D since it is a chronic illness that is associated with a risk of comorbidity and requires a lifestyle change, especially after the onset of insulin therapy [ 4 ].…”

“…Previous findings have suggested that high levels of diabetes-specific distress may account for higher functional impairment, work loss, and poorer self-management behavior [ 17 – 19 ]. Decreasing emotional distress is important in helping the patient with diabetes to cope with the disease and improving adherence to treatment [ 3 ]. Furthermore, Fisher et al [ 20 ] identified seven major sources of distress among patients with type 1 diabetes, among them physician distress.…”

Teoría específica sobre las conductas familiares de las personas con diabetes tipo 2

“…El cumplimiento y mantenimiento de estas complejas actividades, es especialmente difícil, si no se cuenta con apoyo, ya que muchas de estas actividades requieren de la colaboración por parte de la familia para lograrlas (preparación de alimentos equilibrados, acompañamiento en la actividad física, recordatorios para la citas con profesionales de la salud, etc.) (13,39) . La Teória específica sobre las Conductas familiares para la Autogestión y el Control glucémico de las personas con Diabetes, está integrada por cuatro conceptos.…”