I am a doctoral psychology student at the University of Regina working under the supervision of Dr. Heather Hadjistavropoulos. For my Ph.D. dissertation, I am conducting a study on better understanding treatment adherence (i.e., engagement in treatment activities) in individuals with diabetes. Studying treatment adherence in individuals with diabetes is important as researchers have found that the adherence rates for overall treatment are low. Diabetes can be considered a relatively unique chronic illness as unlike many other chronic illnesses, a great deal of self-management is required and poor self-management of this condition can result in the development of complications. Self-management activities for individuals with diabetes include monitoring blood glucose levels, insulin injections, oral medications, diet, and exercise.
To better understand influences involved in either increasing or decreasing treatment adherence, beliefs and attitudes individuals hold about diabetes and treatment activities as well as emotions such as anxiety and depression will be investigated in this study. With a better understanding of these influences, clinicians working with individuals with diabetes may be better able to target the factors that are most involved in treatment adherence. It is anticipated that this foundational research will direct future research endeavors focusing on interventions targeting these factors.
To accomplish this goal, I am currently looking for individuals over the age of 18 from across Canada with a diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes to respond to questionnaires about emotions such as anxiety and depression, thoughts related to engaging in treatment activities, and engagement in treatment activities.
The questionnaires are available for completion either online or in paper format. The survey is voluntary and confidential and will take approximately 1 hour to complete along with two additional 5 minute follow up surveys. As a thank you for participation, $1 for every participant who completes the questionnaires all 3 times will be donated to the Canadian Diabetes Association. This study has received ethical approval from the University of Regina and Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region Research Ethics Boards.
To participate or find out more information, participants are asked to contact Amy Janzen at janzen2j@uregina.ca or 306-585-5369.
It is important for me to reach individuals with diabetes from across different cities and provinces in Canada.
