Abstract:

Aim: This study was conducted with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2 DM) determine the healthy lifestyle behaviors and diabetes selfefficacy levels of patients with Type 2 DM. Material and Methods: The research was carried out descriptively and cross-sectionally with 803 patients with Type 2 DM who applied to a state hospital. Data were collected with the Sociodemographic Characteristics and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Data Collection Form and the Diabetes Self-Efficacy Scale (DSS). Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used to evaluate the data. Results: Most Type 2 DM patients are women (60.5%), 52.7% of them have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 and above, and the rate of receiving diabetes education (19.6%) is low. It has been 2-10 years since 61.8% of Type 2 DM patients received the education and 33.8% did not make any changes in their lifestyle after the education. The total mean DSS score of patients diagnosed with Type 2 DM is 68.23±17.02, and their diabetes self-efficacy is above moderate. There was a significant difference between the patients’ age, gender, educational status, occupation, duration of DM diagnosis, BMI, DM education, regular exercise, adequate and balanced diet, and meal frequency and DSS total scores. There was a significant difference between the status of making changes in lifestyle after DM education and the total score of DSS, the scores obtained from the General Nutrition and Medical Treatment Control, Special Nutrition and Weight, Physical Exercise and Blood Sugar sub-dimensions of the scale. Conclusion: For Type 2 DM, it is seen that being a woman, an advanced age group, and a patient with an old diagnosis negatively affects healthy life behaviors and diabetes self-efficacy. It is important to receive education about diabetes from nurses at least once. To increase diabetes self-efficacy of Type 2 DM patients, it may be recommended to conduct repetitive and follow-up trainings and to give these trainings by diabetes nurses