Examination of the Relationship Between Health Fatalism and Self- Management in Individuals with Chronic Disease

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between health fatalism and disease self-management in individuals with chronic health problems.

Methods: The data of this descriptive cross-sectional study were collected between March and May 2023. A total of 248 patients with chronic diseases formed the study sample. The Patient Information Form, the Health Fatalism Scale, and the Chronic Disease Self-Management Scale were used to collect data.

Results: The mean score of the patients’ fatalism scale was 51.6 (±16.5). When comparing the fatalism scale by sociodemographic characteristics, it was found that there was no significant difference by age, gender, work status and income level (P > .05). However, it was found that the mean fatalism score was higher among those with a low level of education (P < .001) and those with 2 or more chronic health problems (P = .054). When examining the correlation between the sub-dimensions of the self-management scale of the health fatalism scale, it was found to have a positive correlation with the health care effectiveness sub-dimension (P = .006).

Conclusion: It was found that health fatalism does not negatively influence self-management in individuals with chronic health problems, but on the contrary shows a positive correlation with the health management sub-dimension. This suggests that patients may have used fatalism as a coping mechanism. It is therefore recommended to differentiate between active and passive fatalism in future studies.

Cite this article as: Yeni K, Altunsoy M, Gündem İ, Akyıldız N. Examination of the relationship between health fatalism and self-management in individuals with chronic disease. Arch Health Sci Res. 2025, 12, 0073, doi: 10.5152/ArcHealthSciRes.2025.25073.