The Relationship Between Discomfort Intolerance And the Fear Of Self-Injection And Testing In Patients With Diabetes Using Insulin: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nilhan Töyer Şahin; Hülya Ek; Seda Pehlivan

doi:10.1111/jocn.17482

The Relationship Between Discomfort Intolerance And the Fear Of Self-Injection And Testing In Patients With Diabetes Using Insulin: A Cross-Sectional Study

J Clin Nurs. 2024 Oct 6. doi: 10.1111/jocn.17482. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Nilhan Töyer Şahin¹, Hülya Ek², Seda Pehlivan³

Affiliations

¹ Vocational School of Health Services, Istanbul Esenyurt University, İstanbul, Turkey.
² Bursa Uludağ University Hospital, Diabetes Training Nurse, Bursa, Turkey.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, Nursing Department, Bursa Uludağ University, Bursa, Turkey.

PMID: 39370576
DOI: 10.1111/jocn.17482

Abstract

Background: Diabetes is a global problem. Diabetes nurses, in particular, take great responsibility in reducing and controlling the fears of individuals using insulin and increasing their capacity to tolerate discomfort.

Aim: This study was conducted to examine the effects of the capacity to tolerate discomfort on the fear of self-injection and the status of testing blood glucose levels in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes using insulin.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2022 and February 2023 with 320 adult patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes using insulin who were followed up in the Endocrinology and Internal Medicine Clinics of a university hospital in Turkey. The data analysis process included analyses of the frequency, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, the Kruskal-Wallis H test, and Pearson's correlation analysis. Data were analysed using the IBM SPSS v27.0 software, considering alpha as 0.05.

Results: The mean total Discomfort Intolerance Scale score of the patients was 22.78 ± 6.74, and the mean Fear of Self-Injecting and self-testing was 21.1 ± 6.7. A negative significant correlation was found between the discomfort intolerance levels of the patients and their levels of fear of self-injection and self-testing (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Individuals with a higher capacity to tolerate discomfort have lower levels of fear of self-testing and self-injection. Therefore, the fear of self-testing and self-injection in patients using insulin injections may affect diabetes self-management.

Relevance to clinical practice: Individuals with low tolerance for discomfort should be identified, interventions to increase tolerance in individuals at risk should be planned, and diabetes self-management should be better supported.

Reporting method: The reporting of the results of the study adhered to the STROBE guidelines.

Keywords: diabetes; discomfort intolerance; insulin; self‐injection; self‐testing.