Investigation of the relationship between the attitudes of patients with type 2 diabetes toward insulin therapy and complementary alternative medicine.

AIM: This study aimed to determine the attitudes of patients with type 2 diabetes toward insulin treatment and complementary alternative medicine and to examine the relationship between them.

METHOD: A cross-sectional design was used in the study. A total of 293 patients with type 2 diabetes were included in the study. The study data were collected by using a Descriptive Information Form, Complementary, Alternative and Conventional Medicine Attitude Scale (CACMAS), and the Insulin Treatment Appraisal Scale (ITAS). The factors related to the attitudes of patients with type 2 diabetes toward insulin were examined by using multiple linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

It was determined that 36.5% of the patients used CAM, 49.8% received insulin therapy, and that 38.6% received oral antidiabetic treatment. Patients' mean score on the total CACMAS was 106.8 ± 19.7, indicating a moderately positive attitude. Their mean score on the total ITAS was 57.1 ± 11.6, suggesting that they had a negative attitude toward insulin therapy. In regular drug use, negative attitudes toward insulin decreased (β = -0.151, p < 0.001), and when dissatisfaction with conventional medicine increased, negative attitudes toward insulin increased, as well (β = -0.432p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

While almost all of the patients (93.9%) had a negative attitude toward insulin, they had a moderately positive attitude toward the use of CAM. A significant portion of them (36.5%) stated that they used CAM. There was a weak positive correlation between attitude toward CAM and negative attitude toward insulin.