BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder prevalent worldwide that, in addition to being costly to manage, severely impacts patient quality life. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand the factors associated with quality of life in diabetic patients. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to investigate relationships between variables including demographics, disease characteristics, emotional distress, empowerment perception, and self-care behavior and quality of life, as well as to identify the important explanatory factors of quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This study used a design that was cross-sectional, descriptive and correlated. A total of 220 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the previous ten year period were recruited as participants in this study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire that incorporated scales to capture demographic, disease characteristic, emotional distress, empowerment perception, self-care behavior and quality of life data. The quality of life scale measured the three domains of satisfaction, impact, and worried about the diabetes. RESULTS: Results included: (1) the standardized score of quality of life was 79.6, considered in the moderate to high range; (2) Education level, age, "diabetes shared care" participation and insulin therapy were variables with significant impact upon quality of life; (3) The more severe the emotional distress, the worse quality of life scores were in every domain; (4) The better the perception of empowerment, the better the score in the satisfaction domain; (5) The better self care behavior was, the better the score in the satisfaction domain; and (6) emotional distress was the most important explanatory factor of quality of life, accounting for 28.7%-53.8% of total variance. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The findings of this study suggested that health professionals should evaluate emotional distress of diabetic patients in the early stage, provide emotional support and consultation and apply empowerment strategy to promote their quality of life.
BACKGROUND:Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder prevalent worldwide that, in addition to being costly to manage, severely impacts patient quality life. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand the factors associated with quality of life in diabeticpatients. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to investigate relationships between variables including demographics, disease characteristics, emotional distress, empowerment perception, and self-care behavior and quality of life, as well as to identify the important explanatory factors of quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This study used a design that was cross-sectional, descriptive and correlated. A total of 220 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the previous ten year period were recruited as participants in this study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire that incorporated scales to capture demographic, disease characteristic, emotional distress, empowerment perception, self-care behavior and quality of life data. The quality of life scale measured the three domains of satisfaction, impact, and worried about the diabetes. RESULTS: Results included: (1) the standardized score of quality of life was 79.6, considered in the moderate to high range; (2) Education level, age, "diabetes shared care" participation and insulin therapy were variables with significant impact upon quality of life; (3) The more severe the emotional distress, the worse quality of life scores were in every domain; (4) The better the perception of empowerment, the better the score in the satisfaction domain; (5) The better self care behavior was, the better the score in the satisfaction domain; and (6) emotional distress was the most important explanatory factor of quality of life, accounting for 28.7%-53.8% of total variance. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The findings of this study suggested that health professionals should evaluate emotional distress of diabeticpatients in the early stage, provide emotional support and consultation and apply empowerment strategy to promote their quality of life.