RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY, ILLNESS PERCEPTION, HEALTH LITERACY, AND TREATMENT ADHERENCE AMONG PATIENTS UNDERGOING HEMODIALYSIS

Abstract

This study investigated the independent and collective roles of illness perception, health literacy, and self-efficacy as psychological determinants of treatment adherence among patients undergoing hemodialysis. Utilizing a cross-sectional correlational design, a sample of 200 hemodialysis patients was evaluated using standardized instruments. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that illness perception was significantly positively correlated with both health literacy (r = .153, p < .05) and self-efficacy (r = .147, p < .05), though neither construct showed a significant direct bivariate relationship with treatment adherence. Notably, longer hemodialysis duration was significantly associated with decreased self-efficacy (r = -.246, p < .01), while higher monthly income was positively associated with self-efficacy (r = .258, p < .01). A standard multiple regression analysis evaluating the collective predictive power of demographic and psychological variables found that the overall model was not statistically significant, explaining only 4.6% of the variance in treatment adherence (R2 = .046, F(8, 191) = 1.142, p = .337). Gender emerged as the sole significant predictor (β = -.18, t = -2.45, p = .015), indicating lower adherence levels among male patients. These findings suggest that standalone psychological and informational variables are insufficient to directly predict adherence behavior in this population, highlighting the complex, multidimensional nature of regimen compliance in hemodialysis management.