Health Locus of Control and Self Care Behavior in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Health Locus of Control (HLC) is an individual belief in controlling current health conditions, which is possibly determined by internal or external factors. Belief in the source of health control will influence the effectiveness of diabetes self-care management. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between Internal Health Locus of Control (IHLC), Powerful others Health Locus of Control (PHLC), and Chance Health Locus of Control (CHLC) with self-care behavior in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. This research applied an observational analytic design with a cross-sectional approach. A total of 84 respondents were enrolled in this study by using the consecutive sampling technique. Data collection was conducted by administering questionnaires of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale (MHLCS) and Summary of Diabetes Self Care Activities (SDSCA). Data were analyzed by using the Pearson correlation test with a significance level of 0.05. The result showed that PHLC had the highest score of the mean value (26.95) compared to IHLC (25.55) and CHLC (19.25). The mean value of self-care behavior was 3.5. There was significant positive correlation between IHLC and self-care behavior (p-value: 0.001; r: 0.485), significant negative correlation between PHLC and self-care behavior (p-value: 0.048; r: -0.217), and significant negative correlation between CHLC and self-care behavior (p-value: 0.001; r: -0.350). The higher the IHLC score in type 2 DM patients, the better the patient's self-care behavior. However, the higher the PHLC or CHLC score in type 2 DM patients, the lower the patient's self-care behavior. Patients with high IHLC depend on themselves and have awareness of the importance of health. This study suggests the importance of assessing the patient's HLC and providing psychoeducation about HLC, control behaviors, and self-awareness to optimize diabetes self-care in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.