The mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between social support and medication adherence in adults with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the status of medication adherence in diabetic patients and its effective factors.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 170 diabetic patients in Iran. Participants were assessed for medication adherence, self-efficacy, and social support. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and multiple stepwise regression were conducted to explore predictors for medication adherence.

RESULTS

Regression analysis showed that 48% of medication adherence changes stemmed from the four variables including social support, self-efficacy, income, and education levels, ( = 0.480,  = 39.943,  < 0.001). According to the model, the highest effects were related to income level (β = 0.332,  = 5.493,  ⩽ 0.001) and self-efficacy (β = 0.330,  = 4.789,  ⩽ 0.001), respectively. Based on the final model, only the social support variable showed no significant relationship with adherence (β = 0.002,  = 0.032,  = 0.947).

CONCLUSION

Social support and self-efficacy were related to medication adherence in diabetic patients, and social support can improve medication adherence in patients with diabetes by affecting self-efficacy. Healthcare workers who interact with individuals with diabetes should take into account the factors mentioned above when designing health promotion interventions to address the needs of these individuals.