SOCIAL SUPPORT AND DIET COMPLIANCE IN TYPE II DIABETIC PATIENTS

Diabetese is a serious medical-social problem, which imposes a great economic burden on patients, families and society. Considering that non-compliance of the patients has prominent effects on societies, it is necessary to consider this issue as a social problem. Determining the relationship between social support and the level of compliance of diabetic patients, a descriptive study was conducted with 250 type II diabetic patients, which were selected purposefully. Results showed that social support and patient’s adherence to the regimens had statistically meaningful relation. (P=0.011), it also was through for the life style monitoring subscale (P=0.009). Although it was not statistically meaningful with the social barriers but a negative correlation with treatment subscale was shown (P=0.065). To conclude, social support is one of the important factors that can influence diabetic patient’s adherence to the therapeutic regimens and must be noted and considered for these patients.