The Relationship of Metabolic Control to Hardiness, Self-Efficacy, and Perceived Medication Adherence in Adults with Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus, a serious and costly disease, is a public health challenge. Diabetes is controllable, yet non-adherence to prescribed medications causes diabetesrelated complications resulting in hospital admissions and readmissions that may be prevented. A cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study was conducted to investigate the relationship of metabolic control (A1C) to hardiness, self-efficacy, and perceived medication adherence. Health-Related Hardiness Scale (Pollock, 1990); Long-Term Medication Behavior Self-Efficacy Scale (De Geest et al., 1994); and Perceived Medication Adherence Scale (Allison, 2000) were administered to 215 participants. Data analyses of correlation and multiple linear regression using SPSS 10.0 statistical software were performed. Metabolic control was not significantly predicted by hardiness, self-efficacy, and perceived medication adherence. However, 42% (n = 88) had A1C level \u3c 7%. The Perceived Medication Adherence Scale was found to be of one factor structure and reliable. The findings indicate that physiological phenomena were not predicted by self-reported behavioral phenomena. Further research using an intervention study, such as patient education and/or telephone followup intervention in conjunction with diet and medication therapy needs to be conducted to determine whether metabolic control will be improved in adults with diabetes mellitus