THE EFFECT OF HEALTH LITERACY ON ADAPTATION AND SELF-EFFICACY IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of health literacy on disease adaptation and self-efficacy in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 106 volunteer patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus who were treated in the internal medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of a state hospital between January and May 2024. Data were evaluated by independent t-test, Pearson correlation, linear regression analysis using SPSS 22.0 software. Statistical significance level was taken as p<0.05. The mean age of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus was 59.41±13.22 years. The participants’ total scores were 80.50±22.54 in the Health Literacy Index, 83.84±8.63 in the Adaptation to Chronic Illness Scale and was 64.01±17.19 in the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. According to regression analysis, health literacy had a significant effect on both adaptation to chronic illness (B=0.277, p<0.001) and self-efficacy (B=0.601, p<0.001). In this study, patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus had moderate health literacy, high level of adherence to chronic illness and moderate level of self-efficacy. Health literacy had a strong effect on adaptation to chronic illness and self-efficacy. © 2025, Inonu University. All rights reserved.