Investigating the Mediating Role of the Perception of the Disease in Relation to Psychosocial Factors with Self-Care of Type II Diabetes Patients

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of perception of illness in relation to psychosocial factors with self-care in type II diabetes patients. Methods: The present study was a descriptive-analytic one. The statistical population of this study included diabetic patients referring to type II diabetes in Milad Clinic of Mashhad. The sample consisted of 392 subjects who were selected by convenience sampling method. To measure the research variables, Short illness perception Questionnaire of Birdbent et al., Stress Coping Styles of Lazarus and Folkman (1984), Tangeny Self-Control Short Form (2004), Zement et al. Social Support (1988), Physician-Patient Relationship of Wendreflets et al. (2004) and the Tobert and Klasgow Self-Care Scale (2004) were used. Statistical analysis of the data was done by structural equation modeling using path analysis with Amos-23 and SPSS-23 software. Results: There was a significant relationship between coping styles, self-control, social support, and physician-patient relationship with self-care in type II diabetic patients (P < 0.05). The results also showed that perception of illness has a mediating role in relation to psychosocial factors with self-care. Conclusions: Given the importance of psychosocial factors, the results of this study showed that a rational understanding of the disease, on the one hand, reduces the emotional disturbance of dealing with unpredicted illness-related issues, and on the other hand, improves self-care by adjusting patterns of drug use and meeting with the physician.