Psychosocial adaptation in patients with type 2 diabetes referring to Diabetes Research Center of Birjand in 2013

Diabetes is a chronic disease that can affect the physical, psychosocial, and social adaptation of patients. This study aimed to assess the psychosocial adaptation of patients with type 2 diabetes who referred to the Diabetes Research Center of Birjand.

In this descriptive‒analytical study, 120 diabetic patients who referred to the Diabetes Research Center of Birjand in the spring of 2013 were selected through convenience sampling. Data collection tools included Demographic Information Form and Psychosocial Adaptation to Illness Survey (PAIS), whose content validity was confirmed by 10 members of the faculty; its reliability for 20 patients was calculated as 0.94 using the Cronbach's alpha. The obtained data was analyzed in SPSS (version 15) using independent t-test and ANOVA at the significant level of P<0.05.

The overall mean score for psychosocial adaptation in the study was 1.28±0.43 which was at a moderate level. As education level increased in participants, the overall mean score for psychosocial adaptation and the components of family environment, social environment, and psychological disorders also increased in a significant way. However, mean scores of psychosocial adaptation in vocational environment, sexual relationship, and social environment decreased along with increase in the duration of diabetes.

The results of this study showed that psychosocial adaptation of type 2 diabetic patients was moderate and that demographic factors were effective on psychosocial adaptation of these patients. Therefore, it seems necessary to plan for educational and caring interventions by health centers to enhance psychosocial adaptation, and hence, more effective medical treatment.