Endocrinology & Metabolic Syndrome
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-1017
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-1017
+44 1478 350008
Eva Turk, Valentina Prevolnik Rupel, Alojz Tapajner, Stephen Leyshon and Arja Isola
Accepted Abstracts: Endocrinol Metab Synd
Objective: The objective of the study was to measure diabetes-dependent quality of life (QoL) in Slovenian Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 (DMT2) patients, aged 65 years or older. Methods: A cross-sectional study of elderly (age ≥65 years), non-insulin dependent patients with DMT2 at outpatient diabetes practices was conducted in all regions in Slovenia. The Audit on Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL) questionnaire was used for data collection and carried out between January and May, 2012. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 18.0. Results: A total of 285 were included in the analysis, which represented a 57% response rate. Lower quality of life was significantly connected to not having additional health problems like heart attack episode (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.06-5.20) and to the perception of not having diabetes under control (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.18-0.69). Eleven (3.9%) patients report no impact of DMT2 on their QoL at all, while in the remaining respondents, particular reference was put to the effects on freedom to eat, dependency on others and family life. There was no significant difference between the elderly people living in urban and rural areas. Conclusions: The findings of the present study highlight the impact of DMT2 on QoL. DMT2 imposes a personal burden on individuals. Information on the QoL quality of life of elderly DMT2 patients is important to Slovenian policy makers and family physicians in order to identify and implement appropriate interventions for achieving better management of diabetes and ultimately improving the QoL of diabetic patients.
Eva Turk, PhD, MBA is a Senior Researcher at DNV GL Strategic Research and Innovation, Healthcare. She joined the DNV GL Strategic Research and Innovation, Healthcare programme in Oslo, Norway in January 2012, where her responsibilities include research in person-centred care and risk management, and collaboration in the European Joint Action on Patient Safety and Quality of Care. Prior to joining DNV, she was working at the National Institute of public health in Slovenia, where she was responsible for implementation and development of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in Slovenia. She has been involved in many European research projects and also in the EUnetHTA Joint Action, where she was the lead partner and project manager for Slovenia. She has co-authored several scientific articles and publications, such as the Health systems in Transition ?Slovenia and Health in Slovenia. She did her Master?s in Social and Economic Sciences, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (2003). She specialized in Hospital Management (Diploma, 2005) and obtained her MBA in Health care Management (2007) from the same University. She gained PhD (2013) from University of Oulu, Faculty of Medicine, Finland.