Prediction of Adherence through Illness Appraisal of Individuals with Diabetes: Role of Experiential Avoidance

Abstract

In chronic diseases, illness appraisal and adherence to the treatment go hand in hand. Diabetes is a silent killer, and most of the time, the experiential avoidance of the patient leads to drastic consequences. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between illness appraisal and adherence, and the mediating role of experiential avoidance in this relationship among individuals with diabetes. For this purpose, the data was collected from 150 individuals with Type-I diabetes (n=71) and Type-II diabetes (n=79), recruited from hospitals in Islamabad using a cross-sectional research design. To assess illness appraisal, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Broadbent et al., 2015); for adherence, General Medication Adherence Scale (Naqvi et al., 2018) and for experiential avoidance, Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (Gámez et al., 2013) were administered. It was hypothesized that 1) there is a negative relationship between adherence, illness appraisal, and experiential avoidance among individuals with diabetes. 2) Illness appraisal predicts adherence among individuals with diabetes. 3) Experiential avoidance mediates the relationship between illness appraisal and adherence among individuals with diabetes. Results indicated a significant negative relationship between adherence, illness appraisal, and experiential avoidance among individuals with diabetes. Results also highlighted that illness appraisal significantly predicted adherence among individuals with diabetes. Furthermore, experiential avoidance significantly mediated the relationship between illness appraisal and adherence among individuals with diabetes. Study results have important implications in clinical settings to improve the treatment process and consider all the other factors impacting adherence.