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. 2023 Jul 13:17:1657-1670.
doi: 10.2147/PPA.S413385. eCollection 2023.

The Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy on the Relationship Between Medication Literacy and Medication Adherence Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Haoqi Liu  1   2 , Ziqiang Yao  1   2 , Shuangjiao Shi  1 , Feng Zheng  1   2   3 , Xia Li  1   4 , Zhuqing Zhong  1   2
Affiliations

The Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy on the Relationship Between Medication Literacy and Medication Adherence Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Haoqi Liu et al. Patient Prefer Adherence. .

Abstract

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes have poor medication adherence. Medication literacy is one of the influencing factors of medication adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the mechanism by which medication literacy affects medication adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes is unclear. The aim of this study was to verify the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between medication literacy and medication adherence.

Methods: A total of 402 patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in this study. The Chinese versions of the Medication Literacy Scale, the Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 were used in the survey. Pearson correlation analysis was used to find correlations among medication literacy, self-efficacy and medication adherence. The PROCESS macro (Version 4.1) with Model 4 for SPSS was used to verify the mediating role of self-efficacy.

Results: Twenty-four percent of the participants had poor medication adherence. Self-efficacy and medication literacy (r=0.499, p < 0.01) and medication adherence (r=0.499, p < 0.01) were significantly and positively correlated. Self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between medication knowledge and medication adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes, accounting for 36.7% of the total effect.

Conclusion: Self-efficacy had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between medication literacy and medication adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes. Self-efficacy should be improved through effective measures to increase patients' confidence in adherence to antihyperglycemic drugs.

Keywords: mediating effect; medication adherence; medication literacy; self-efficacy; type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The theoretical framework of this study. (a) Effect of medication literacy on self-efficacy; (b) Effect of self-efficacy on medication adherence; (c) Effect of medication literacy on medication adherence (Without mediation); (c’) Effect of medication literacy on medication adherence (With mediation).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between medication literacy and medication adherence. (a) Effect of medication literacy on self-efficacy; (b) Effect of self-efficacy on medication adherence; (c) Effect of medication literacy on medication adherence (Without mediation); (c’) Effect of medication literacy on medication adherence (With mediation).
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