From "Medication shortcut" to "Dependence": A qualitative study of self-management paradox in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes

Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore the process and internal mechanism of patients with diabetes falling into the vicious cycle of medication dependence from the perspective of patients' life.

Methods: Employing purposive sampling, 23 patients with type 2 diabetes were interviewed individually at a renowned tertiary hospital in South China. Subsequently, interview data underwent content analysis.

Results: Analysis of the collected data yielded three overarching themes: "disease limits me everywhere," "the medications make me feel my life again," and "difficult to get rid of the medication dependence."

Conclusions: Our study reveals the process and underlying causes of the vicious cycle of medication dependence among patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes patients, in the process of integrating self-management into their daily lives, often view medication as a shortcut to simplify life. They struggle between comprehensive management and dependence on medication, but influenced by immediate gratification and life rationality, they ultimately fall into an inescapable vicious cycle.

Practice implications: This study can provide information for targeted interventions to enhance patients' comprehensive health management abilities, thereby breaking the vicious cycle.