Diyabet Hastalarının Covid-19 Salgınıyla İlgili Endişelerinin Ve Bakım İhtiyaçlarının Belirlenmesi

Aim: The purpose of this study is to identify the COVID-19 epidemic concerns and care needs of diabetes patients. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with diabetes patients constitutes living in Turkey. The data were collected on the social media platform Facebook, with an online questionnaire created by the researchers in line with the literature.The sample of the study consisted of 213 diabetic patients who were willing to participate in the study. Descriptive statistical tests were used to evaluate the data. Before starting the study, ethics committee approval was obtained after the study permission was obtained from the Ministry of Health. Results: The participants, 61.5% were women, 43.7% had diabetes “between 5-10 years” and their mean age was 55.12 ± 12.79. In the process of the Covid-19 outbreak, the participants; 69.0% could not go to the hospital for medical examination and to be protected from having information about how diabetic patients will be affected by the epidemic (61.5%), wanting to know what other diabetic patients do in this process (53.1%), asking for advice from health care personnel during this process (77.9%). The most concern of diabetes patients during the epidemic process are; the probability of the virus infecting them (68.1%), the probability of the virus making them sick (68.1%), and dying due to the virus (69%). Conclusion: As a result, it may be suggested to establish units such as diabetes support desks and telephone counseling lines in health institutions to address the concerns and care needs of diabetes patients who are considered to be a high-risk group during the Covid-19 pandemic process.