The Association Between Hopelessness and Medication Adherence among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Ririn Wahyu Widayati (Department of Mental Health Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Respati Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Januar Rizqi (a:1:{s:5:"en_US"s:91:"Nursing Department of Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Respati Yogyakarta, Indonesia"})
Akbar Satria Fitriawan (Department of Basic Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Respati Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Maria Josefine Festin Bobo (School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Respati Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Listyana Natalia Retnaningsih (Department of Nursing Management, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Respati Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Dedi Kurniawan (Department of Mental Health Nursing, Kepanjen School of Health Sciences, Indonesia)
Zenni Puspitarini (Department of Pediatric Nursing, Poltekkes Kemenkes Tanjung Karang, Indonesia)
Sono Sono (Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Poltekkes Kemenkes Tanjung Karang, Lampung, Indonesia)

Journal of Health Sciences
Vol 19 No 02 (2026): Jurnal Ilmiah Kesehatan (Journal of Health Science)

Optimal glycemic control and prevention of complications in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) largely depend on patients’ medication adherence. However, poor adherence remains a major challenge, and psychological factors such as hopelessness may contribute to this problem. This study aimed to examine the relationship between hopelessness and medication adherence among patients with T2DM. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted between July and August 2024 involving 73 T2DM patients at the Kalasan Public Health Center, Yogyakarta, selected through consecutive sampling. Hopelessness was assessed using the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), while medication adherence was measured using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Data were analyzed using the Spearman rank correlation test. The prevalence of hopelessness was 17.8%, and 21.9% of participants demonstrated low medication adherence. A significant weak negative correlation was found between hopelessness and medication adherence (ρ = −0.268, p = 0.022), indicating that higher hopelessness was associated with lower medication adherence. These findings suggest that addressing hopelessness through psychological assessment and supportive interventions may improve medication adherence and contribute to better diabetes management among patients with T2DM.