Scale of therapeutic behavior of type 2 diabetic patients. Hierarchical analysis of a questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES Patient's therapeutic behavior determines the quality of self care in diabetes. The sociological approach can contribute to a better understanding of the internal logic of patient's behavior. The objective of our work is to study patients representations of their illness and its treatment in Moroccan type 2 diabetic patients. Our study concerns 307 type 2 diabetic patients. METHOD The collection of data has been achieved by means of a questionnaire by investigators with sociological training. The study consists of hierarchical analysis of a questionnaire on representations, attitudes and behavior of patients with the help of Loevinger's coefficient. RESULTS Test of several groups of hierarchized-answer questions allows to identify a 5 questions scale (scale whose coefficient value is 0.47). Otherwise, different social, psychological and therapeutic variables influence the integration of patients in the scale of therapeutic behavior. CONCLUSION It is possible to recognize a scale of therapeutic behavior in type 2 diabetes. The use of several other sociological qualitative or quantitative methods, by different authors and in different contexts enables to approach the logic of the therapeutic behavior. Its understanding can allows us to adapt the education, the treatment and the follow-up to every patient.