The Investigation of the Family Effect on Glycemic Control of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Aim: This study has been conducted to research family effect on glycemic control among Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, using descriptive method. Method: The research has been performed in 100 patients with Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, who were eligible for the study according to criteria and accepted to participate in the study and who were enrolled in two private hospitals in Istanbul. The data has been collected via Questionnaire Form and Hensarling’s Diabetes Family Support Scale (HDFSS). The results have been assessed within 95 % confidence interval and p< 0.05 significance level. Findings: Fifty two percent of study participants (n=52) were female with an average age of 59.69±13.79 and 42 % of the subjects were male with an average age of 59.54±12.45. HbA1c values of females were lower in comparison to male subjects (p=0.05). On the other hand, HbA1c values of married subjects or subjects who live together with a partner; were higher than single subjects’ HbA1c results (p=0.001). It was found that HbA1c values of the subjects, who use insulin and do not follow a diet, were higher than the others’ (p<0.05). It has been observed that, the subjects who reported sibling/friend support, have higher blood glucose (p<0.05). The results showed that study subjects’ average fasting blood glucose were 151.27 ± 46.13 mg/dL and HbA1c (%) values were in 7.5 ± 1.72 range. It has been determined that the patients who live with their spouses and children, receive more support; with regards to empathetic support (p=0.001), encouragement (p=0.01), facilitative support (p=0.01) and participative support (p=0.006) subgroups as well as scale total point (p=0.002) of HDFSS, compared to the other groups. It was concluded that, subjects who felt spouses/children support, feel empathetic support intensely (28.44±5.89). Patients in our sample group, perceived family support in all respects. Despite the fact that subjects reported that they perceived support, it has been seen that this support does not help glycemic control. It was determined that average fasting blood glucose was 147.91±43.25 and HbA1c was 7.39±1.57 % in the subjects who perceive spouse and children support. Conclusion: In conclusion, perceived support levels of the the subjects who perceive spouse and children support, are higher than the other subjects. But it was concluded that, this support perception does not help to achieve normoglycemia