Self-care Agency and Quality of Life among Iranian Adolescents with Diabetes Mellitus Type 1

Juvenile or type 1 diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic and endocrine disorder in the childhood and adolescence that affects quality of life. Some studies suggest that the most important strategy to control chronic illness is self-care behaviors. This study aimed to investigate self-care agency and quality of life among Iranian adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1 referred to the Diabetes Center of Sina Hospital in Tabriz, Iran
In a descriptive correlational study, 120 diabetic adolescents were selected from a pool of referrals at the Diabetes Center of Sina Hospital using convenience sampling process. Adolescents completed a demographic and a clinical characteristics questionnaire, Diabetes-Specific Quality Of Life Brief Clinical Inventory (DQOL-BCI), as well as a Self-Care Appraisal Scale. Statistical analysis included Pearson correlation coefficient, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA and linear regression. Data was analyzed by SPSS ver.17.
There was a significant relationship between the quality of life and self-care agency (P Diabetic adolescents experience poor quality of life with inadequate self-careagency. So, researchers emphasize the need for planning diabetic education programs based on self-care training to improve the quality of life.