Attitude of Type II Diabetes Patients Towards Preventive Behaviors for Diabetes Complications.

Introduction: Type II diabetes is the most common metabolic disorder, the prevalence of which is increasing in Iran. The relationship between metabolic control and preventive behaviors is established. Attitude is an important determinant in preventive behaviors. This study investigated the attitudes of patients with type II diabetes towards preventive behaviors for disease complications. Materials and Methods: This descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study was performed among 200 patients with type II diabetes referring to diabetes center in Bandar Abbas, Iran. The participants were chosen through convenience sampling. The data was collected through a questionnaire on attitudes towards preventive behaviors for type II diabetes complications. The validity and reliability of this scale were established in a paper by Jahanfar et al. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation coefficient was run in SPSS version 19. Results: In total, 129 patients were female and 71 were male, and the majority of the patients had a positive attitude towards preventive behaviors. Level of education (P=0.04), as well as consumption of fruits and vegetables (P=0.00) were significantly correlated with attitudes towards preventive behaviors. However, no significant relationship was found between duration of disease and attitude (P=0.341). Conclusions: The mentioned relationships emphasize the importance of implementing training programs, providing facilities, and adopting appropriate policies to improve preventive behaviors for diabetes complications in both patients and general population [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]