Introduction

Type II diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disease and one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality of our days. It is a complex disease which requires an integral approach.

Objective

To determine the behavioral stage and the decisional balance of change of conduct in patients with type II diabetes who fulfill the insulin therapy criteria by using the transtheoretical model with a qualitative focus at Ekmul, Health Center in Yucatan

Materials and Methods

Eight patients, with dual oral hypoglycemic drug therapy, at a maximum dose and with no glycemic control, were chosen with a convenience sampling. In order to obtain Personal information and to know the stages of change we used questionnaires along with a cause-effect diagram and a problem tree.

Results

Five women completed the proposed activities, three (60%) of them where identified in the pre-contemplation stage and two in the contemplation stage. A total of 16 answers from the cause-effect diagram, related to insulin usage, showed that ten (62.5%) is against it and six (37.5%) in favor of it.

Conclusions

The decisional balance within the identified stages gives greater weight to the disadvantages of insulin therapy which generates resistance to short-term behavioral change. The misinformation of the elemental physiology of the disease causes false concepts of the insulin usage which is reinforced by psychological factors, such as the fear of the unknown and the social stigma. These contribute to form a vicious circle that prevents the timely initiation of insulin therapy.

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