THE LEVEL OF MEDICATION COMPLIANCE, SELF-EFFICACY, AND HEALTH LITERACY OF ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS

In this descriptive-correlational study, we investigated medication adherence, self-efficacy, and health literacy levels among elderly patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and evaluated the relationships among these variables. A structured survey was conducted to gather information from the older adults included in our study, including their demographics (i.e., age 60-70 years; gender was equally represented; secondary education; low to middle income; strong family support systems; most are married or living with family). Most of the older adults had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus for 5-10 years, and had been primarily treated with oral hypoglycemic medications. All study participants, when asked about their medication adherence, self-efficacy, and health literacy, reported high levels of adherence (Mean = 3.04), self-efficacy (M = 3.08), and health literacy (M = 3.26), with the highest scores in health literacy. Although participants had a high degree of knowledge regarding medication adherence and were very confident in performing basic self-care tasks, such as checking their blood glucose and adjusting their diet, we observed that there were many occasions when they were inconsistent with medication adherence, particularly when traveling or when experiencing no symptoms of diabetes; furthermore, they expressed difficulty managing their emotions and managing their diabetes independently. Using correlation analysis, we found a moderate positive relationship between medication adherence and health literacy (r = .46), a weaker but positive relationship between medication adherence and self-efficacy (r = .27), and a moderate positive relationship between self-efficacy and health literacy (r = .50), thus indicating that health literacy is an important predictor of both adherence and confidence. Due to these findings, the researchers proposed a comprehensive action plan to enhance medication adherence, improve emotional coping, sustain health literacy, 4) encourage independent self-management, strengthen family support, and enhance patient-provider communication and continuous monitoring of patients. Overall, this study highlights how knowledge, confidence, and behavior work together to support diabetes management and reinforces the need for education-based, patient- and family-centered support to improve health outcomes for elderly patients with diabetes mellitus.