The relationship between discomfort intolerance and the fear of self-injection and testing in patients with diabetes using insulin: A cross-sectional study

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. MethodsThis 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 PracticeIndividuals 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 MethodThe reporting of the results of the study adhered to the STROBE guidelines.