Social support and diabetes control: a study among patients admitted to specialized clinic of Dr. Gharazi hospital in Isfahan.

INTRODUCTION

Diabetes causes premature mortality, disability and sometimes irreversible health consequences. Scholars believe that social factors directly and indirectly could impact patient in control of diabetes. The main purpose of this research is to understand how social support related to control of diabetes.

METHODS

320 diabetic patients were randomly chosen from specialized clinic of Dr. Gharazy hospital in Isfahan. The element was questionnaire which its reliability was calculated according to coefficients Cronbach's alpha (r = 0.78). The patients 'two previous sessions 'blood sugar level and also their HbA1C were studied via referring to their medical records. Then the patients were categorized into successful and unsuccessful groups in controlling the diabetes. Their relationship of social support and diabetes control was analyzed through SPSS software.

RESULTS

The findings show that there is a direct relationship between social support and control of diabetes. The patients who had better instrumental, emotional and informational social support, better controlled their diabetes.